he Trade Ministry has finally provided clarity on the long-delayed compensation payouts to businesses that were caught in the middle of the cooking oil policy flip-flop.
Domestic Trade Director General Isy Karim said on Monday that the ministry was in the middle of preparing the payment process, but assured the matter would be resolved within four months.
“It will be before October. We will certainly work on it as soon as possible. I don’t want to make promises and it’s in the middle of the process, still waiting for a meeting,” Isy was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.
He went on to say that the ministry would pay compensation according to the auditing results of state-owned surveyor PT Sucofindo.
However, Sucofindo said the government owed Rp 474.8 billion (US$29 million) to businesses affected by the policy, but cooking oil producers have suggested the final sum could be more.
Read also: Cooking oil producers lost ‘billions of rupiah’ from policy flip-flop: Association
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The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) projected last May that the government could owe businesses around Rp 1.1 trillion, based on the accounts of hundreds of producers and retailers.
Read More: Govt to resolve cooking oil compensation by October – Regulations