Jakarta –

The Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) stated that the government’s debt is for payment of price differences cooking oil alias rafaksi in the one price program in 2022 has not been paid. Even though the program has been rolling since January 2022.

Aprindo chairman Roy Nicholas Mandey said the government’s total debt to entrepreneurs was Rp 344 billion. The rafaction should have been paid 17 days after the program was implemented, unfortunately it has been more than a year and the rafaction has not been paid.

He explained that the one-price oil program itself was carried out in the framework of business compliance with Permendag number 3 of 2022. At that time all entrepreneurs were asked to sell cooking oil at IDR 14,000 per liter, while the price of cooking oil on the market at that time was around IDR 17,000-20,000 per liter. Now, according to Permendag 3, the price difference or fraction is said to be paid by the government.

“Rafaction we did when there was Permendag 3 2022, so rafaksi was not a retail wish, because there was the Permendag regulation. Those are the provisions that apply in Permendag 3 regarding one price cooking oil. Everything is sold for IDR 14,000, from January 19 to January 31,” said Roy Mandey in the forum for breaking the fast together, at Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, Thursday (13/4/2023).

“In this regulation, apart from one price, the government will pay the difference in price, because at that time the price was soaring,” he continued.

So the problem arose when Permendag 3 was replaced with Permendag 6 of 2022. The new regulation cancels the old rules regarding rafaksi that are borne by the government. In fact, according to Roy, the government’s debt to entrepreneurs must still be paid.

“Permendag 6 appeared, indeed the Permendag 3 is no longer valid, but that doesn’t mean that rafaction is not paid. We have deposited all the data on January 31, we have complied with everything,” said Roy.

According to Roy, his party was surprised why the fractional debt paid by the government was not paid. Moreover, the fractional money was not financed by the state budget, but CPO export levies from palm oil exporters at the BPDPKS.

“Rafaction payments do not go through the APBN, but through BPDPKS, the money is not APBN, from CPO exports, CPO export tariffs, so the money is privately not APBN. So in other words we just ask to pay, until today it has not been paid. It’s not fair when we comply rules but don’t know when it will be paid and finalized,” said Roy.

Wait for the Ministry of Trade’s verification

On the other hand, Aprindo Executive Director Setyadi Surya stated that the BPDPKS stated that the fractional payment money actually already existed and was ready to be distributed. It’s just that the BPDPKS is currently waiting for a verification letter from the Ministry of Trade.

“The funds are available, all that’s left is the verification letter. Just waiting for the verification recommendation letter,” said Setyadi in the same place.

Unfortunately, the last news that Roy and Setyadi heard was an anticlimax. The Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan said that his party could not provide the results of the rafaction verification to BPDPKS because the contents of Permendag 3 of 2022 had been canceled with Permendag 6 of 2022.

According to Roy, Zulkifli Hasan admitted that he was afraid of “cashing out” the fractional money from the BPDPKS to entrepreneurs because the rules no longer apply. On the other hand, Zulkifli Hasan even asked businessmen to challenge the Regulation of Minister of Trade 6 to PTUN, only then can rafaksi be given permission to liquidate it so it doesn’t violate the rules.

When stating this, Roy went so far as to listen to recorded evidence of Zulkifli Hasan’s statement in a meeting with Commission VI of the DPR.

“I heard that at a meeting with the DPR, the Minister of Trade said he was afraid to disburse because the rules no longer existed. Second, he asked us to sue the Administrative Court and he wanted to give the verification letter to the BPDPKS so that the rafaction could be disbursed,” said Roy.

Responding to this, Roy actually said that his party did not want to take legal action. In fact, according to him, if the Ministry of Trade has the intention to pay the rafaction debt, it would be better if there was a revision of Permendag 6 and included provisions so that the rafaksi would still be paid.

“If possible, we don’t want to take legal action, right? Because this is not state budget money, not corruption, but our real rights. If it’s the Minister of Trade Regulation, he should be able to revise it, he’s afraid that if it’s a rule, he won’t actually make it,” said Roy.

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(hal/hns)