NSW scheme to be rolled out in nine more ports

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government hopes to expand the National Single Window (NSW) scheme, an on-line permit service for importers and exporters -- first introduced earlier this week at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port -- to nine more major ports next year.

"So far, it's been successful at Tanjung Priok Port.

"And we expect that ten big ports, including Tanjung Priok Port, will be served by the scheme by the end of 2008, at the latest," said Edy Putra Irawadi, a deputy to the coordinating minister for economics, on Thursday.

By next April, he said, the government would introduce the system at Belawan Port in North Sumatra, Tanjung Mas in Central Java, Tanjung Perak in East Java, and Makasar Port in South Sulawesi.

The extension of the scheme to another five ports -- Panjang in South Sumatra, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Batam, Bali and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan -- was expected to follow later in the year.

Last Monday, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati officially launched the first stage of NSW and its web portal -- http://www.insw.go.id.

During the first stage, five government agencies out of the 36 with responsibilities in the export/import field, have adopted the system, namely, the Customs Office, Food and Drug Control Agency, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Animal Quarantine Center and the Agricultural Quarantine Center.

Currently, however, only 100 importers -- the beneficiaries of the so-called fast-track priority facility operated by the port authority -- are able to benefit from the scheme.

The priority facility, which grants importers preferential treatment for goods inspection at the port, is restricted to firms that have a proven track record and have never violated the regulations.

As for exporters, they will not be eligible to receive such treatment during the first phase of the NSW scheme, which is expected to end before April, when the second phase is scheduled to commence.

"We hope that by April next year, when we launch a common portal, the work of all the 36 agencies will be integrated in the NSW system, as well as other importers and exporters, so that we can simplify permit processing and curtail corruption," Edy said,

"There used to be a lot of redundancies involved as regards the necessary documents, unnecessary payments and convoluted bureaucracy."

He said that under the new service, an importer would only need 7.5 hours to get the necessary clearances to recover their shipments from the port authority, must faster than previously, when several days might be required.

The new service would also significantly reduce costs.

Edy said the NSW scheme had also simplified the job of the relevant government agencies, adding that the 23 biggest ports in Indonesia had to process 4.5 million export and import documents every year.