In Reply to: Les.... posted by Baldie on Tuesday, 9. June 2009 at 09:05 Bali Time:
and not engage in "heavy-handed" tactics at the "end-user" level.
The Hotels had purchased from their regular sources considered to be reputable. It would appear that it was difficult to determine that the Customs Stickers were actually forged.
For Customs to have instigated the "raids" on Hotels/Restaurants then they must have been aware of from where this situation had evolved so why not start at the "top of the chain" first.
Only last week there was a large seizure of illegial alcohol at Jakarta's main port. The huge increases in Excise which were supposed to stop the problem of illegal alcohol have only made the situation worse by literally opening the floodgates for more to take advantage of the poor controls in place here. Alcohol Imports into Indonesia are controlled by a monopoly situation. Other Countries have a more open Import System and controlled tax systems which no not require a "sticker" to be placed on each bottle.
I was in no way insinuating that it is ok to break the rules and try to evade payment of legitimate taxes. I just believe that the whole process could have been handled in a more appropriate manner. The Hotels/Restaurants had paid for what they believed to be "legal" alcohol and are therefore suffering substantial monetary losses from the purchases which are compounded by loss of potential profits.
Tourists are not interested in problems associated with Indonesia's Customs and Excise Department. What interests them is the availability of Wines and Spirits to accompany meals - also a very important part of Bali's Conference and Convention Business.
Indonesia has already lost many Conference & Convention Bookings to other Countries because of its draconian Import & Excise issues affecting both Food and Beverage imports.
It is high time that the Indonesian Authorities bight the bullet and introduce an open and transparent system of Import & Excise regulations - maintaining Excise at sustainable levels and eliminating the present monopoly system which just props-up the "fat cats" as a relic of the Soeharto days.