Bali Customs at it AGAIN!

People

If you feel you need protection from these guys, write to the Indonesian embassy in your country and ask for the rules of importation. Then present them to these guys.

You may also send your feedback here:

Ministry Of Culture And Tourism, Republic Of Indonesia

Sapta Pesona Building

Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No. 17

Jakarta 10110

Tel. +62 21 383 8167

Fax. +62 21 384 9715

 

mailto: emarketing@my-indonesia.info

I received an Error message (server failed to identify a reason) when sending to that e-mail address. Let me know if anybody gets it to work.

No one is importing anything.

What is needed is an official interpretation of the tenth question that is asked on the Indo Customs declaration:

It is:

Do you have with you Goods obtained overseas exceeding FOB US$50 for crew, or US $250 per person or US $1000 per family? Yes or No

This is what they constantly pointed to on my form and insisted I was violating.

To me, it is obvious it is intended for returning Indonesian citizens. Customs officers have conveniently used it to levy a camera import "tax" as any camera is going to exceed $250.

What needs to be answered is if this is intended for tourists? If so, even your iPod is a problem. If this is the case, we all will have to bring in disposable point and shoots and shop at Wal Mart before we come to Indo.

Its just extortionist pap and we need someone to say "Yes, we don't allow you to bring anything of any real value with you to Indonesia while on holiday except cash" or "No, Declaration question 10 is intended for our citizens. Please enter our country and enjoy it using your grown up toys and clothes."

I wrote yesterday but have gotten no reply. Any tourism officials' names we can narrow this down to?

I have the name of the Bali tourism guy but I suspect the head guy in Jakarta wuld have more clout if anyone knows who that is.

Best,

Tim

Actually Tim, that does apply to all passengers. BUT the line after that applies to tourists and which they convenient pretend is limited to 1 camera:

http://www.kbrisingapura.com/eservices_for_bea6.php?lang=eng

That interpretation is what they use. Be patient, there may yet be light at the end of the tunnel.

Also it is Visit Indonesia Year. And those of you who have visited would have no doubt filled in the questionnaire. Maybe contacting these guys and telling them about Bali customs might help. Or just go to Manado - no hassles there (although I only had one camera).

Alex

Actually Tim, that does apply to all passengers. BUT the line after that applies to tourists and which they convenient pretend is limited to 1 camera:

 

http://www.kbrisingapura.com/eservices_for_bea6.php?lang=eng

 

That interpretation is what they use. Be patient, there may yet be light at the end of the tunnel.

Hi Drew,

I kept the Customs declaration BC22 that was part of that episode and the next line, Item 11, asks about cigarettes.

The item (Question #10) I quoted in the above discourse was in its entirety and the item they repeatedly pointed to and told me I violated. I know its for everyone. But their own interpretation of that has always been to let divers bring in a couple of cameras, especially if you explain what the cameras do. I have never before had any problems if you do this so they understand and that's what I initially did.

The site you just copied above also interprets this the same way, with a reasonable amount of equipment to be brought in by visitors to enjoy their specific holiday in Indonesia.

"Cameras, video cameras, radios or portable radio tape recorders, binoculars and sport equipment in reasonable amounts needed by foreign tourists during their stay in Indonesia."

I would say Sanagalaki is about as remote as it gets and its reasonable to bring a backup underwater body and a land camera for the beautiful scenery and wildlife in that region.

Nowhere does it say any camera over $250 is "taxable" on any Indo website or any Customs form.

I have never in my 50+ Bali visits had this happen. Judging from the number of responses to this post, I have been a bit lucky.

I hope this flap gets enough attention that it doesn't happen to me or any other diver again.

I still haven't heard a peep back from the Jakarta tourism folks. I will write again.

Good luck with your meeting. The more people who chime in, the better. We all want to return to Bali and Indo again and again and we'd like to enjoy the 2008 Year of Tourism in the fashion it was intended, without undue hassle.

Best,

Timbo

Has anyone had to pay a bond on camera equipment? Curious as to amount, forms of payment, procedure, chances of actually getting the bond $$ refunded upon departing Indonesia, etc. I try to be prepared just in case.

Has anyone had to pay a bond on camera equipment? Curious as to amount, forms of payment, procedure, chances of actually getting the bond $$ refunded upon departing Indonesia, etc. I try to be prepared just in case.

As I stated in the start of this thread, a member of the Bali film commission told me it varies greatly and a bond can range anywhere from 16% to 60% of the value of the goods in question. This person deals with major film crews coming in and doesn't really have much to do with individuals. This person told me the large projects have to do this on a fairly regular basis and that the money is always refunded if everything that came in goes out.

In my case, they asked what my cameras were worth and I gave them a ballpark figure of $4,000 (3 D200 bodies). They then came up with 35.135%!!!!

So by their math, minus my $250 that they claim I am allowed on Form BC22, I would have had to leave 35.135% of $3750 or USD$1,317.56.

I told them I would not do this so they held 2 camera bodies.

But my film commission source tells me there is nothing in writing, nothing to set a price on a particular camera make and model and the whole process is arbitrary. So there's really no planning for this. I suspect I could have said the cameras were worth $1000 and no one would know since they had no value charts in the office and no computers either.

I was told I had to leave them and could not get them out without paying USD$1,317.56.

The very next day I had a friend who works as a group facilitator inquire about the ransom and for a straight, non-refundable $550 I could have gotten my cameras with no questions asked and no paperwork. So you can see this is just a few agents lining their pockets at the expense of tourists that these guys know have to catch a ship or a flight. They know they've got you over financial and time barrels.

Fortuantely for me, my camera worked fine and the person I was visiting had a D80 w/housing that I could have used as a backup had the worst happened. I also had a friend there in Bali who would have been able to rescue me with a Nikon body in the worstest possible scenario. And I had a couple of extra days in Sanur to work this out. But many tourist sport divers don't have this backup or luxury, so they pay the bribe, pay the down or lose the gear for their trip.

Not something you can really plan for because its all a phantom enforcement of a dubiously interpreted law.

Best,

Timbo

Wow, bad experience there Timbo. Hope people are sending in comments to Jakarta. On a side note I just brought in two big 1650 Pelicans with underwater and topside filming gear in through customs and no word or demand for "baksheesh". They even opened up the cases and looked at the HVX200's and other cameras / gear etc. Customs Clearance fee was $70. Maybe your efforts have rippled through the ranks.

Cheers,

Mark.

Wow, bad experience there Timbo. Hope people are sending in comments to Jakarta. On a side note I just brought in two big 1650 Pelicans with underwater and topside filming gear in through customs and no word or demand for "baksheesh". They even opened up the cases and looked at the HVX200's and other cameras / gear etc. Customs Clearance fee was $70. Maybe your efforts have rippled through the ranks.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

Hi Markus,

If it did, that would certainly be nice. Didn't they hit you up a while back when you went to Lembeh? Anyway, have a good shoot. All the video and photos people take of Indo's diverse marine life can't help but promote and enhance tourism, so they should be encouraging everyone to haul in a camera.

Best,

Timbo

Well, it’s now happened to one of my clients for the first time. I had a film maker and his partner coming in doing work for a conservation org. They were pulled up by customs, as soon as they saw the big camera, it was into the back room and the negotiating started. Funny thing was, they weren’t even interested in the old back hander. They wanted a bond on the camera, they were lucky the customs didn’t open all the bags, as the bond would have been out of control.

In the end they got away with a bond of Rp13,000,000 which is about US$1,400. They had to get this out of the ATM in the airport!

This is totally nuts, if these clients had enough cash on them to pay for their gear they would also be breaking another regulation by bringing in too much cash!

When they left Bali, they simply went to the customs and got their money with no issues at all!

I will be looking into this issue and will try and see if there is an easier way to get around this for future shooters entering Indo who don’t want to worry about this hassle!

They were pulled up by customs, as soon as they saw the big camera, it was into the back room and the negotiating started. Funny thing was, they weren’t even interested in the old back hander. They wanted a bond on the camera, they were lucky the customs didn’t open all the bags, as the bond would have been out of control.

Did they ask for a film permit? When we came in they asked for a bond 33% and a permit. I never heard of a film permit, especially not for just a couple of underwater shoots on a low level video camera (Z1).

Hi Tim,

No, they weren't ask for a filming permit. Though BBC shooters and othe big production houses will use this permit over here to save any hassles... As should all photo journalists too, though this ain't gonna happen as there'd be no more articles on Indo diving if people had to get such a visa!

Hi Tim,

 

No, they weren't ask for a filming permit. Though BBC shooters and othe big production houses will use this permit over here to save any hassles... As should all photo journalists too, though this ain't gonna happen as there'd be no more articles on Indo diving if people had to get such a visa!

Hi George,

thanks for the info. Some clear guidelines about when a permit should be required would really help. Any idea where or how to obtain those.

It's Peter by the way.

Oops sorry for some reason I thought this was Tim.

I'll try find out more details and post it on here. Though at the moment I'm sort on a world tour holiday and won't be back in Bali working till late August!

Hi Graham and Peter!

There isn't anything written down. That's the problem. If it was, everyone would know where they stand and what to expect.

As I said, there is also a somewhat suspicious reason for this "bond" as well. The receipt you get says the money or equipment will be forfeited if not reclaimed in 30 days. If for some reason you leave the country at a different airport or can't get there in time, its theirs. That is clear on the receipt which you sign. I have no idea how you would go about reclaiming money or a camera once you leave. There is no information like that on the receipt.

Despite Drew's faith in the e-mail address he obtained, I have yet to get any sort of reply to a number of e-mails myself. It hasn't bounced but no on has replied.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what Drew's pending meeting produces.

However, I have a feeling Customs is its own little fiefdom and doesn't give a flake what Tourism says or requests.

I think the proper route is directly to the head of Jakarta Customs or the Gov. of Bali.

But we'll see.

Hang in there folks and keep working on that innocent look.

Tim of the Deep

There isn't anything written down. That's the problem. If it was, everyone would know where they stand and what to expect.

It actually written down. I had one of these forms a while back, I'll try to get my staff to get more info as I'm away travelling all over the place right now!

I really want to see something change with this, so I'll find out all I can as soon as I can...

Hi Graham,

Well, good luck with it. It would be enlightening considering no Bali dive operator I have talked to seems to have seen the actual law or form. Many are unaware of any restrictions while a few say they've heard about a form and some vague law but have never actually seen the law or the form. To my knowledge, the people who actually have to deal with divers have never been approached in writing by the government about equipment restrictions and tariffs for their guests.

By the way, this is probably a new thread, but look at this:

http://www.indonesiancoral.com/about.html

It came in my spam!

Enjoy your travels and hope to catch up with you in Bali later in the year.

Best,

Timbo

The world is a big place. No need for me to go to Bali. The culture of paying everybody wearing a uniform a little extortion fee would drive me crazy. They should sell standardized extortion tickets.

I'll spend my hard earned money elsewhere.

Agreed that the world is a big place and there exists many a dive destination. However, if the community allows it to happen in one place it could certainly fester into other places and cause broader extortion issues. I still think it's a good idea to pursue things like this for the preservation of camera-related travel.

Joe

Imagine my surprise to be confronted with the very self-same customs agent Tim mentioned at the beginning of this thread upon my arrival in Denpasar yesterday. My wife and me with our two large Storm cases, two overfilled dive bags and four carry-ons. Taking a deep breath we stepped forward anticipating the inquisition to follow. Goods news though; after all of the anticipation this thread genertion; the agent looked at us and our cases of camera gear - decorated with the dreaded white (and red) chalk "X's" mentioned earalier - and asked, "What is in the boxes"? To which I so wisely replyed, "Scaba gear for our dive holiday". His response was simply, "Go ahead"! Imagine my surprise and relief!!

Thanks guys for the heads up.

Allan Vandeford