Indonesian singer says customs imposed IDR4 million duty on trophy she shipped home from Japan

The scorn and ridicule toward Ministry of Finance officials just continue to pile on.

ICYMI, Indonesian tax and customs officials have been the subject of immense public scrutiny lately, with their lavish lifestyles being regularly exposed online. This has led to serious repercussions including officials having to answer for their suspiciously exorbitant wealth, and even one notable job termination.

Public servants livin’ large

While trust levels for these officials seem to be at an all-time low, an Indonesian singer by the name of Fatimah Zahratunnisa, who is now based in Tokyo, recently posted a series of tweets that have gone hugely viral. In it, she recalls an unsavory run-in with customs officials in 2015.

According to Fatimah, she had just won a singing competition in Japan, which was televised. She decided to ship the large trophy to Indonesia as she could not carry it on her flight.

When she went to claim the trophy, she said customs imposed a duty on the item to the tune of IDR4 million (US$260). Fatimah then filed an exemption request for the trophy, which she won at no monetary expense.

“[They told me] to show them a video from the TV show, then they believed me. At the office, they told me to sing to prove to them that I can sing,” she tweeted.

“Yet even though they eventually believed I won the contest, they still asked me, ‘How much money do you have now? How much can you pay?’ I was extremely upset that I had to pay for my own prize, so I said, ‘I have IDR5,000 (US$0.33) for my angkot trip home.’”

The Customs and Excise Office’s official Twitter account replied to Fatimah’s thread to apologize and invite her to lodge a formal complaint, to which she replied, “Maybe you can pay my singing fee at the office? Or maybe you can invite me to sing again, but now I only accept payments in Yen.”

To be fair, customs are essential for the prevention of tax evasion and to ensure that all imported goods are properly accounted for. The Customs and Excise Office imposes duties on the shipment of any item valued at equal to or more than US$3.

But there is growing frustration at the country’s complex and often confusing customs regulations, which have been said to open people up to the mercy of unscrupulous officials.