Increase in Import PPH Does Not Violate WTO Rules

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - The Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita stressed that the policy of raising import tax rates (PPh) on 1,147 tariff posts would not violate the rules of the world trade organization or the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"There is no need to worry, this Article 22 Income Tax does not violate the WTO and can be credited. The type we question and there will be no shortage," Minister Enggar said at a press conference at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta on Wednesday (05/09/2018)

Enggar said that domestically produced consumer goods will not suffer from a shortage of stocks with the enactment of the import PPh tariff adjustment to 1,147 commodities as a policy to control the import of consumer goods.

Likewise, the Director General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Okay Nurwan, said that the policy to increase Article 22 PPh rates were indeed applied to imported goods and goods produced domestically.

However, for imported goods the tax payment can be credited as part of the payable PPh payment at the end of the tax year.

Increase in tariffs on Article 22 Income Tax, which is imposed on certain business entities, both government and private, which conduct trade activities in export, import and re-import.

According to Okay, policies that can violate the rules even cause sanctions from the WTO are discriminatory treatment of imported goods. Therefore, this PPh 22 tariff adjustment is not to worry because there are no WTO rules violated by the government.

"If we apply imported products or domestic products are differentiated, then it is discriminatory," said Oke.

As is well known, the Government officially implemented a policy to control the import of consumer goods through raising the import tax rate (PPh) on 1,147 tariff posts as a strategy to overcome the current account deficit.