Indonesia mulls export tax to control coal exports: minister

JAKARTA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government plans to control the shipping of coal to overseas and considers applying export tax on the commodity, local media reported Monday.

Energy Minister Jero Wacik made the statement on his speech at the opening of the 18th Coaltrans Asia Conference in Bali on Monday that the government aims to control the exports to meet the rising demand of domestic market.

"We will control the exports of coal in a bid to guarantee the supply for domestic market. We will manage the composition of exports and there is no plan to ban export," he was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia online as saying.

Indonesia has introduced a plan to ban exports on 65 mineral products, metal ores, and non metal ores unless the miners manage to build a smelter and pay a 20-percent export tax, a policy aimed at boosting downstream sector and raising more revenue from the sector.

Indonesia domestic coal demand grew over 10 percent annually.

Previously, Thamrin Sihite, a director general in the energy ministry has said that the government is still considering a tax on coal exports.

Indonesia coal reserve reaches at 28 billion ton or 3 percent of the world's coal reserve.

June 4, 2012

Source: Xinhua