Wednesday, 18 July 2012

APPLICATION OF SNI ON INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS REACHES 568 HS CODE NUMBERS


Plan of the government, in this case the Industry Ministry and the Trade Ministry, to apply some Indonesian National Standards (SNI) this year, is not regarding the number of SNI which reaches 1,000, but there are some commodities, namely textiles & products therefore (TPT), children’s toys, and telecommunications equipment (especially cell phone and Personal Digital Assistant/PDA) that have many HS (Harmonized System) code numbers. As stated by Head of Industrial Policy, Climate and Quality Assessment Agency (BP-IKMI) of the Industry Ministry, Aryanto Sagala, that TPT is estimated to have around three SNI.

For children’s toys, there are 8 or 14 SNI to be applied, and for telecommunications equipment, there will be no SNI applied but only registration in the form of registration number and the requirement to use Indonesian-language manual. Therefore, total HS code numbers reaches 568 numbers. According to Arryanto, in the application of the mandatory requirement, the Industry Ministry will coordinate with the Trade Ministry.

“Currently, there are some SNI which are in process of notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Some time ago, we have sent a document to be ratified by WTO to the National Standardization Agency (BSN). BSN will send the document to WTO. After the notification process is complete and there are no parties who have an objection, a regulation in the form of Regulation of Industry Minister will be signed.

Normally, during the notification process, the minister concerned can sign the regulation. Indonesia can act a little bit “naughty” like what has been done by other countries. Indonesia should not continually become a “good boy”. But, due to Indonesia’s position which is currently highlighted by other countries as a result of delay in the implementation of Regulation of Trade Minister No. 30/M-DAG/PER/5/2012 from June 15, 2012 to September 28, 2012, the signing process of the regulation is adjusted. The notification process is a factor that causes delay in the issuance of Regulation of Trade Minister on SNI on Children’s Toys.

While, for cell phone and PDA products, the Industry Ministry is waiting for regulation or document submitted by the Ministry of Communications and Information. As it is related to technical matters on telecommunications equipment, the Industry Ministry is waiting for preparation for the application of mandatory registration and requirement to have an Indonesian-language manual.

Industry Depth

In respond to the need for industry to fill vacancy in some sectors, in relation to industry deepening, whether from the upstream, intermediate, and downstream sectors, Arryanto responded that the vacancy only occurs in some industry sectors, especially petrochemical and metal industries. TPT and ceramic industry sectors have had a complete chain from the upstream to the downstream sector.

In petrochemical industry sector, its upstream and intermediate sectors are not available in Indonesia. If there is any, its volume is insufficient to meet demand of its downstream sector. Therefore, Indonesia is still building its steel industry using scraps as iron sand is not available. Therefore, we are developing metal smelter. If not, the quality of Indonesia’s steel will finally affect the automotive industry so that there are some kinds of steel that must be imported, especially for making machine block.

Therefore, machine block producers are unwilling to apply SNI because almost all of the products good quality and flexible steel. In this case, SNI application is necessary so that the products are in accordance with the required specifications”, Arryanto said.

 Business News - July 11, 2012

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