Larissa Huda, Jakarta – Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the Finance Ministry recorded a total of 1,064 imported waste containers retained at Tanjung Priok Port as of October 30. This occurred because importers had not yet submitted Import declaration form (PIB), said the sub directorate import head Djanurindro Wibowo.

"We cannot inspect the containers yet. So we will make a breakthrough by carrying out a physical inspection," said Djanur in Jakarta, Tuesday, November 12.

He added that the inspection was conducted under the request of customs and excise officials in a bid to secure the country's rights or fulfill the applicable regulations.

The initiative was made in coincided with the government's plan to form a task force that had been ruled in the Ministerial Regulation or Permendag No. 84/2019.

Djanur outlined there were at least 1,380 containers heading to Tangerang via Tanjung Priok Port, but only 164 of them were declared clean, while 144 containers were mixed with hazardous and toxic waste (B3), eight were still being examined, and the rest 1,064 containers did not have PIB documents yet.

"If the containers are subjected to re-exports, it cannot be detained for more than 30 days. But the problem is, there lacks PIB," Djanur added.

The Head of Mining and Waste Goods of Foreign Trade Directorate General at Trade Ministry, Defry Setyawan, said that the policy governing the import of waste had been listed in the Ministerial Regulation No. 31/2016 concerning Provisions on the Import of Non-B3 Waste, in which stipulated that importers were obliged to re-export if the waste was proven to be contaminated by B3 waste.

However, the regulation did not appoint the authority who would handle the case. "We have examined case by case, so in the future, there would be a task force that will decide that," Defry said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1271567/govt-forms-task-force-to-handle-waste-import