PTBA pays export tax to release vessel

State owned coal mining company PT Bukit Asam (PTBA) has paid coal export tax to customs office in order to release its vessel.

?We pay the export tax this morning (Thursday morning),? company corporate secretary Milawarma told Petromindo.Com on Thursday.

The customs office in Palembang, South Sumatra seized early this week the vessel containing 8,000 tons of coal that PTBA was delivering to cement producer Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd of Malaysia on the grounds the state firm had not yet paid the coal export tax.

The government has planned to impose a five percent tax on coal exports in order to boost revenue from the commodity and curb exports. But it has yet to issue a regulation to implement the tax.

PTBA?s officials initially rejected the customs office?s demand, saying that the rule had yet to take effect as no implementing regulation had been issued. (Godang)