EKONID successfully hosted the online roundtable event titled “Navigating Opportunities and Compliance: Indonesia’s New Import Regulatory Landscape” via Zoom Meeting on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The event was aimed at equipping EKONID’s members with a thorough understanding of Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 8 of 2024 (“MoT No. 8/2024”), an import policy issued by the Government of Indonesia on May 17, 2024.
MoT No. 8/2024 is the fourth amendment to Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 36 of 2023 (“MoT No. 36/2023”) issued in response to container congestion at Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak Ports. The accumulation of containers occurred because many commodities were restricted by MoT No. 36/2023 from entering Indonesia.
The event featured two prominent speakers: Mr. Priyo Tri Atmojo, S.E., M.M., the Associate Trade Analyst from the Directorate of Import of the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, and Mr. Rahmat Sarjito, the Customs Analyst from the Import Sub-Directorate of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise under the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.
In a 30-minute presentation, Mr. Priyo elaborated on the impact of MoT No.8/2023, as detailed below:
- Relaxation for 11 commodities, namely electronics, traditional medicine and health supplements, cosmetics and household health supplies, footwear, apparel and accessories, bags, valves, lubricants (raw materials), textiles and textile products, finished textile products, and certain chemicals;
- Relaxation for the importation of sample goods, goods for research and/or product development not for commercial purposes; and
- Relaxation of the import of manufactured goods as complementary goods, goods for market testing purposes, and/or manufactured goods for after-sales services by importers with NIB API-P (companies with a production license).
A temporary policy for the release of imported goods that have arrived at the destination port for the period of March 10 – May 17, 2024, was also promulgated.
Following Mr. Priyo’s presentation, Mr. Rahmat elaborated on the technical processes involved in the clearance of imported goods. He explained the three stages of cargo clearance, namely pre-clearance, customs clearance, and post-clearance procedures. In general, the pre-clearance process is a stage where importers or exporters look for information and apply for the required licenses or permits. The second stage has many processes, such as customs declarations, checking payment, risk profile checking, channeling, and inspection. After the process is completed, the importers or exporters will get a customs clearance permit. He also emphasized their role in mitigating challenges posed by port congestion.
Seventy representatives from companies in Germany and Indonesia attended the online roundtable. During the Q&A session, different questions were discussed between the participants and speakers, including the different import requirements needed from companies with API-U (Angka Pengenal Impor–Umum or Importer Identification Number–General) import license and companies with API-P (Angka Pengenal Impor–Produsen or Importer Identification Number–Producer) import license.
EKONID extends its gratitude to Mr. Priyo Tri Atmojo, S.E., M.M., and Mr. Rahmat Sarjito for their valuable contributions to the event’s success. The organization also thanks all participants whose engagement enriched the discussion and made the event a fruitful learning experience.