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Vehicle tax document to be replaced
Indah Setiawati , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 09/06/2008 11:29 AM | City
Starting Monday, Jakartans who pay their vehicle tax will receive a new proof of payment document, replacing the temporary proof letter considered problematic by many.
"Those who received the temporary proof letter can exchange it for the new one or use it until they pay their taxes next year, at which time they'll receive the new one anyway -- either way, it doesn't matter," head of the Jakarta provincial revenue agency Reynalda Madjid told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The agency will cooperate with the traffic division of the Jakarta Police to begin testing the new tax document this Saturday at 1 p.m., with official use to begin Monday.
Head of vehicle registration documents at the city police Comr. Indra Jafar said the temporary proof letters had been used for around three months, following the replacement of the provincial revenue agency head, one of the three officials who authorized the letter.
Reynaldi, former head of the provincial treasury, replaced Agusman Badaruddin.
"The temporary vehicle tax letter is also legal. People need not worry because traffic officers on the street will continue to recognize it," Indra said, adding the documents will be valid until next year.
Many taxpayers have pointed out flaws in the design of the temporary proof letter, arguing it can easily be counterfeited: The document does not contain signatures or a hologram.
Police have just received the temporary documents from the provincial revenue agency, which is responsible for tax matters and distribution of the letters, Indra said.
"Our job relates only to registering and identifying," he added.
Both the new and former versions of the permanent letter are yellow and contain signatures at the bottom from the city police traffic division chief, the provincial revenue agency head and the branch head of road operator Jasa Raharja, as well as a hologram of the Jakarta province seal on the top left corner.
As the traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Joko Susilo was replaced last month by Sr. Comr. Tjondro Kirono -- formerly the chief of the traffic division for the East Java police -- the new version will likely reflect that change.
Head of the vehicle theft division Adj. Sr. Comr. Nico Afinta warned vehicle owners not to trust vehicle tax documents offered by scalpers.
"What usually happens is the scalpers do not actually pay the vehicle tax, but give the owners a fake proof letter instead. The owners usually find out they've been defrauded about a year later, when they go to pay their taxes and find they've been double-billed," he said.
