Customs Audit

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise is an agency tasked with supervision, law enforcement, service and optimization of state revenues in the field of customs and excise in accordance with statutory provisions. One of the pillars of supervision used by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise is customs and excise audits.

So, what is a customs audit?

Based on the Customs Law and PMK 200/2011 to PMK 258/2016, customs audits are:

“Activities of examining financial reports, books, records and documents which are evidence of the basis of bookkeeping, and letters relating to business activities, including electronic data, as well as letters relating to activities in the customs sector, and/or supplies of goods in the context of implementing statutory provisions invitation in the field of customs.”

Based on the Elucidation of Article 86 paragraph (1) of the Customs Law, customs audits are carried out in the context of supervision as a consequence of the implementation of a self-assessment system and customs value provisions based on transaction value.

Apart from that, this activity is also carried out as a consequence of providing non-collection facilities, exemption, relief, return or suspension of import duties which can only be monitored and evaluated after the imported goods leave the customs area.

A customs audit is a compliance audit carried out to test the auditee’s compliance with laws and regulations in the customs sector. For this reason, requests for financial reports in customs audit activities are not intended to assess or provide opinions about financial reports.

The request for financial reports aims to ensure that the bookkeeping provided to customs and excise officials is the actual bookkeeping used to record business activities which at the end of the period are summarized in the financial report (Explanation of article 86 paragraph (1a)).

In addition, with financial reports, customs and excise officials can obtain information regarding people’s activities related to customs.

This activity is carried out for a number of service users including importers, exporters, temporary storage place entrepreneurs, bonded storage place entrepreneurs, customs service management entrepreneurs, or transportation entrepreneurs.

Types of Customs Audits

There are 3 types of customs audits carried out by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. First, a General Audit is an audit that has the scope of a complete and comprehensive examination of the fulfillment of customs and/or excise obligations.

Second, special audits, namely audits that have a certain scope of inspection regarding the fulfillment of certain customs and/or excise obligations.

Third, an investigative audit is an audit carried out to investigate suspected customs and/or excise crimes.

General audits are carried out on a planned basis or at any time, while special audits and investigative audits can be carried out at any time.

After this activity has been completed, the company or individual that has been audited will receive recommendations for improvements and improvements must be made as soon as possible so that the company or individual can comply with applicable customs regulations and provisions and avoid possible sanctions.