Import rules/duty free rules for passengers to Indonesia

This article is about importing things to Indonesia as a passenger on an international flight (or ship).

The main regulation is 203/PMK.04/2017 with further detail in Regulation of the Director of Customs 9/2018.

Goods are considered as passenger goods if they arrive with the passenger, or within 30 days before, 15 days after (for air — for sea it is 60 days). To prove this fact both passport and boarding pass must be showed.

Passenger goods are divided into three categories:

• goods bought in Indonesia — free of tax
• goods bought out of Indonesia that will be used temporarily in Indonesia and then re-exported — free of tax
• goods bought out of Indonesia that will remain in Indonesia — subject to tax above the exempt amount of $500 for goods for personal use, $0 for items for non-personal use.

In addition there are excise duty limits (any excess must be destroyed):

• 200 cigarettes/25 cigars/100 grams of tobacco or combination of the same (for passengers over 18) AND
• 1 litre of any alcoholic drink (for passengers over 21) — (rumours about 2.25l are wrong, as they do not reflect the difference between trade limits (2.25l) and excise duty limits (1l))

If exceeding the excise duty or exempt amount limits, the passenger must go to the red lane and declare, also if:

• carrying animal/fish/plant products
• narcotics/psychedelics/pornography/medications
• money over 100 million rupiah

Definition of personal items

The definition of personal items is contained in regulation 9/2018 above, and provides that they are items of a quantity and type reasonable for personal use, and that they are actually for personal use. Any item where the intended use is in a shop, business, institution, etc., is NOT personal.

Thus it is important to understand that it is not only your intended use that is relevant but also the nature of the item. Therefore for example if you import a large jackhammer, that is not a personal item, even if you intend to only use it yourself. Equally for example importing 50 shirts for your members of staff in your business would mean it is NOT a personal item.

Further to this, the question of ‘household goods’ arises. These are subject to separate regulations and procedures, and are known as ‘barang pindahan’. Barang pindahan can only obtain tax exemption if you are moving to Indonesia following the official rules and within certain time limits.

In addition people may ask about their used clothes, etc. Indonesia has strict rules about import of used clothes (which are broken on an industrial scale), but in practice used clothes and other used personal items are not subject to scrutiny. For other used items there is no specific exemption, and in theory the rules apply on the basis of the $500 exemption and reimporting goods. However in practice for normal amounts of used clothes, etc., these are not subject to scrutiny or assessed for taxation. For items other than those which you typically bring on a trip (example: a single laptop in worn condition normal, three laptops is not), then expect to be questioned. If the item was already within Indonesia, try to declare it on leaving, so that you are not charged on re-entry.

Customs value and duty rates

For personal goods the value subject to customs is the total value of the relevant goods, minus $500. This applies individually and never jointly, so if your family buys a TV costing $800, they must pay tax on $300, and cannot attempt to split the cost of the TV between passengers.

For non-personal goods, the value subject to customs is:

• the total value of the goods
• minus zero exempt amount
• plus a ‘reasonable’ estimate of the value of freight and insurance (see page 51 in regulation 8/2018, where a set of car parts were estimated at $15 freight, $6 insurance).

The nilai pabean or customs value is then the value subject to customs as per above, plus import duty.

The import duty rate is:

• a flat rate of 10% for personal items, or
• the actual import duty rate (which can be substantially more than 10%, particularly for clothing) for other items. The source of import duty is PMK 6/2017 as modified by PMK 213/2017 (certain environmental goods), PMK 17/2018 (bicycles) and PMK 17/2020 (automotive goods).

The ‘customs value’ is the duty-paid value. Further taxes are levied on top of the customs value, so you pay tax on the duty.

VAT and Income tax on top of the customs value

In Indonesia, income tax (PPh) is a wide-ranging tax which covers all kinds of things which would perhaps be called ‘capital gains tax’, ‘land tax’, etc., in other countries.

PPh on imported goods is called ‘Article 22 income tax’, which is regulated by PMK 34/2017 as modified by PMK 110/2018. The default rate of PPh for imports without using an API (import licence) is 7.5% (article 2(1)). For certain items this is increased to 10%, in accordance with the list in 110/2018. The rate is doubled if you do not have an NPWP (Nomor pajak wajib pajak, or tax number) (as per article 2(4)).

PPN or VAT is simply charged at 10%.

Mobile phones and cellular tablets/computers

All of these items are already subject to 10% BM, 10% PPN, 10% PPh as per the regulations above, 20% PPh if you lack an NPWP.

The customs regulation 5/2020 and circular 20/2020 are further to the fact that all devices with an IMEI will be blocked from use in Indonesia if not registered, in order mostly to prevent the illegal import and sale of phones from China. The regulation governs the procedures for registration, while the circular gives 60 days to unblock with ZERO exempt value at a local customs office after arriving in Indonesia

Therefore you will pay 32%/43% with/without NPWP with a $500 exempt value if you declare a phone at the airport, and 32%/43% with/without with NO exempt value if you go to your local customs office within 60 days of arrival. If you are already in Indonesia you should first (within 60 days of arrival!) register via https://www.beacukai.go.id/register-imei.html in order to start the process of phone registration.

It is important to note that if you arrive with no dutiable goods other than a $200 phone bought overseas, you must still register it at the airport, otherwise you will be required to pay taxes as per the circular on the full $200. The alternative is that you can get a tourist SIM card which will work for 3 months. Typically after that it is possible to get another tourist SIM card with a different number.

There is a further ban under the Trade Regulation 38/2013 of importing more than 2 phones, computers or tablets per passenger.

Note that if you are buying an expensive phone overseas then it will usually be cheaper to order it via post.

Calculations

Monitor

You buy a computer monitor costing $950 in Singapore. This is a reasonable item for personal use. You are not a resident of Indonesia so therefore do not have a tax number (NPWP).

A check of Google shows that the international HS Code for colour screens other than TVs is 8528.59.10, and this is listed as an item subject to 10%, not 7.5% PPh 22 in Indonesia. Therefore

• value subject to customs is $950 — $500 = $450
• $450 is subject to import duty at 10% flat = $45
• this gives a customs value of $450 + $45 = $495
• you then pay 10% PPh on that, which is $49.50, which is then doubled to $99 because you don’t have an NPWP
• you also pay 10% PPN, which is NOT doubled, which is $49.50

The total you must pay (in rupiah, based on the rates at Kurs Pajak) is $193.50.

It can be seen that for personal items the tax is:

• 32%/43% of the excess over $500 for items subject to 10% PPh with/without NPWP
• 29.25%/37.5% for items subject to 7.5% PPh

Chainsaw

You import a petrol-powered chainsaw, which customs determines is not a personal item. The value of the chainsaw is $300. Most kinds of hand tools come under HS Code 8467, which is subject to 5% import duty. You have an NPWP.

Therefore:

• $300 is the base value
• to which customs decides to add a ‘reasonable’ assessment of $10 for freight and $2 insurance, giving $312 as the value subject to customs
• 5% import duty (BM) of $15.60 is charged on that giving $327.60 as the customs value
• 7.5% PPh (as the item does not fit into one of the HS Codes levied at 10%) is charged on $327.60 = $24.57
• 10% PPN is charged on $327.60 = $32.76

Therefore you must pay $15.60 BM + $24.57 PPh + $32.76 PPN = $72.93 in taxation.

Phone

If you bought a phone in Italy costing 915 euros, then that is around $1056, so if you declared it on arrival without NPWP, you would pay

• $1056 — $500 = $556 pre-customs value
• $556 * 1.1 = $611.60 customs value
• $611.60 * 0.2 = $122.32 PPh (double)
• $611.60 * 0.1 = $61.16 PPN

= around 214 euros. Even if you reclaimed the 165 euro VAT in Italy at the airport, then the total cost would be 964 euros

It would have been better in that case to order the phone by post from Italy:

• 750 euro cost (no VAT)
• around 20 euros postage
• 18.25% tax as barang kiriman (posted goods) on the cost and postage = 140.53 euros

Total = 910.53 euros

Cash

The rules for bringing cash into and out of Indonesia are:

• PP 99/2016 — as the overarching regulation
• 19/7/PBI/2017 as modified by 20/2/PBI/2018 for specifically non-rupiah currency

This states:

• it is illegal to bring more than 1 billion rupiah equivalent into or out of Indonesia in foreign currency, and if this is violated then a 10% fine up to 300 million is due.
• any time you bring more than 100 million rupiah in rupiah cash or foreign currency cash, it must be declared to customs or again there is a 10% fine up to 300 million
• you must not bring more than 100 million rupiah in rupiah cash out of Indonesia

Medications, food, cosmetics, supplements

Many passengers are concerned about their medications. As per the above you are technically required to proceed to red channel for inspection if you bring any kind of food or medication from overseas.

The procedures for import of food, cosmetics, medication are in regulation of the BPOM or Body for Scrutiny of Food and Medication 30/2017 as modified by 15/2020.

There is a form there which provides for the proper import of medication as well as food:

Limits on import of food and medication are:

• medication — according to the prescription
• food — 5 kg per passenger
• supplements and traditional medicine — 5 small bottles/boxes/strips per type
• cosmetics — 20 items per passenger

Note that in practice most passengers do not declare their medication. In this case it is important to be aware of the laws on drugs in Indonesia.

These are divided into three types:

• narcotics
• psychedelics
• drugs that are frequently misused, under BPOM regulation 10/2019 (which could be replaced at any time), namely: trihexyphenidyl, tramadol, chlorpromazine, amitriptyline, haloperidol, dextromethorphan.

The drugs of misuse are not heavily regulated but if you are importing them then BPOM must be notified, so this means that it is important to declare these in away that, say, aspirin is not.

Narcotics are split into three classes:

• Class 1 — illegal to use, buy or possess with or without prescription
• Class 2 and 3 — illegal to use, buy or possess without prescription

The list of narcotics is in Health Ministry Regulation 4/2021 which will frequently be updated.

In particular:

• anything whatsoever derived from cannabis is class 1. People importing CBD oil for example are liable to spend the entire rest of their life in prison.

For opioid medications it is necessary to read the regulation very carefully, as they use Indonesian spellings of drugs that are usually spelled in English. For example, the common drug ‘cocadamol’, consisting of codeine and paracetamol is a class 3 narcotic, listed in the list as ‘kodeina’ ‘3-metilmorfina’, or in English ‘codeine’ and ‘3-methylmorphine’.

The prescription medication Adderall consists of two salts of amphetamine and two salts of dexamphetamine, which are all class 1 narcotics, and therefore highly illegal.

Psychotropics are similarly split into four classes:

• Class 1 — illegal to use, buy or possess with or without prescription, currently a short list consisting of two forms of designer benzodiazepine never marketed for use, and all forms of ketamine.
• Class 2, 3 and 4 — illegal to use, buy or possess without prescription- consisting of benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and others.

There is a similar annual or more frequent regulation updating the list of psychotropics.

Here for example we find ‘METILFENIDAT Metil-alfa-fenil-2-piperidina asetat’, i.e. methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin, listed as a class 2 psychotropic.

Specifically if you are trying to bring a class 2, 3, or 4 narcotic or psychotropic medication, the law is:

Pasal 28 (1) Dikecualikan dari ketentuan sebagaimana diatur dalam Peraturan Badan ini bagi Obat dan Makanan tanpa Izin Edar Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan, dapat dimasukkan ke dalam wilayah Indonesia.

(2) Obat dan Makanan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) merupakan Obat dan Makanan yang pemasukannya ditujukan untuk: a. penggunaan sendiri/pribadi berdasarkan pertimbangan tenaga kesehatan atau tanpa pertimbangan tenaga kesehatan;

(5) Pemasukan Obat dan Makanan ke dalam wilayah Indonesia sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) dilakukan melalui mekanisme jalur khusus /Special Access Scheme. (6) Pemasukan Obat dan Makanan ke dalam wilayah Indonesia sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) dapat dilakukan melalui: a. jasa pengiriman/pengangkutan; atau b. barang bawaan penumpang.

Pasal 29 (1) Permohonan pemasukan Obat dan Makanan ke dalam wilayah Indonesia sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 28 ayat (2) disampaikan kepada Kepala Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan.
(2) Pengawasan terhadap Obat dan Makanan yang dimasukkan ke dalam wilayah Indonesia untuk tujuan sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 28 ayat (2) huruf a dilakukan oleh Direktorat Jenderal Bea dan Cukai sesuai dengan ketentuan peraturan perundang-undangan
(4) Pengawasan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) dilakukan dengan menggunakan: a. formulir beserta petunjuk pengisian sebagaimana tercantum dalam Lampiran III Peraturan Badan ini

In other words:

• it is illegal to possess any form of narcotic or psychotropic except with a prescription
• it is illegal to import any form of narcotic/psychotropic except with import permission, so if you lack such permission you commit a serious offence

Quarantine for animal, fish and plant materials

Decision of Head of Quarantine number 2205/2017 governs the entry of animal material to Indonesia, following sanitary inspection on entry, providing that for passengers, animal material:

• not from an area of disease
• not prohibited for entry
• in limited quantity for personal use of maximum 2 kg/2 litres.

Animal material is defined as:

• animal origin material such as milk, eggs, meat, feathers, etc.
• processed animal origin material

For plant material (anything of plant origin) the regulation 14/2002 requires a quarantine inspection, and for fish material PP 15/2002 and 11/2019. 11/2019 specifies a maximum of 25kg/1.5 million rp value for fish products brought by passengers.

Note that the quarantine rules come under a different government department to the food rules, and the two have different rules — BPOM is concerned with food processing, drugs and cosmetics for reasons of human health and safety. Quarantine is concerned with materials that can spread diseases etc to plants, fish and animals in Indonesia.