PTBA's coal export seized by customs office

The delay in the issuance of the government implementing regulation on coal export tax has hampered PT Bukit Asam's coal export shipment from its coal mining site in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra, Kompas reported on Tuesday.

The daily reported that about 8,000 tons of coal which would be exported by PT BA had been seized by the customs office in Palembang for not paying the 5 percent export tax.

Mahbub Iskandar, a senior executive of PT BA said that the seizure of the 8,000 tons of coal was against the existing regulation. " As the tax regulation has not been enforced yet, we have no obligation to pay the export tax," he said. "The seized coal should be released," he added.

He feared that the uncertainty in the export tax regulation would hamper the company's overall coal exports. At present, PT BA ships about 5,000 tons of coal through the Kertapati terminal a week.

The government plans to impose a five percent export tax from coal export. But the implementation of the tax export has been delayed pending the issuance of the implementing regulation which is now under preparation. (*)