Indonesia New Tariffs For Imported Goods

A recent Finance Ministry Regulation No. 96/2023 has imposed new import duties on perfumes (subject to a 10-15 percent tariff), hair products (15 percent), iron and steel (0-20 percent), bicycles (25-40 percent), and wristwatches (10 percent), which came into effect on October 17, 2023. Under this new regulation, these products will be subject to most-favored-nation (MFN) tariffs, depending on the regular rate based on the harmonized system (HS) code. According to the Government of Indonesia, importing these products affects domestic industry growth.  

According to the statistics on shipment data, the Government of Indonesia sees that imports of bicycles and wristwatches are increasing due to the trendiness among people. The World Trade Organization holds that an MFN tariff is nondiscriminatory unless a country has preferential tariffs under free trade agreements and other schemes or tariffs are charged inside quotas.

The new regulation also obliges e-commerce firms, online vendors, and marketplaces to share data with the DGCE (Directorate General of Customs and Excise). The information in the stipulation includes the name of the e-commerce firm, the seller’s identity, a description of specifications for and the category of the goods shipped to Indonesia, and the quantity. The ministry also requires e-commerce firms to provide the prices of the goods, the dates when the prices are in effect, the currencies used in the transactions, and the goods’ uniform resource locators. This applies to online sellers and marketplaces that import more than 1,000 packages annually for their platforms.

This new regulation aligns with the recent Ministry of Trade Regulation 31/2023, which prohibits social media platforms such as TikTok Shop, categorized as social commerce, from selling goods. The trade regulation also imposes a minimum freight-on-board (FOB) value of $100 per unit for imported goods.

For more information and/or to talk through how to connect with a local distributor in Indonesia,
please contact Pepsi Maryarini (Pepsi.Maryarini@trade.gov)