Heaptalk, Jakarta — The Ministry of Trade, in collaboration with the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) and the Strategic Intelligence Agency of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (BAIS TNI), has successfully secured imported textile products suspected of being illegal. These textile products include new clothes, second-hand clothes, and rolls of imported fabric totaling 1,663 ballpress or solid sacks containing used clothes, equivalent to Rp8.3 billion.
“The Ministry of Trade, along with Bakamla and BAIS TNI, continues to synergize in overseeing and inviting all stakeholders to conduct supervision to protect the Indonesian industry. The entry of illegal goods is a common enemy that hampers the growth of the domestic textile industry,” said Trade Minister Budi Santoso during a press conference at the Ministry of Trade’s Field, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday (02/05).
Today’s findings come from monitoring activities at two locations. The first location is in Surabaya, East Java. Bakamla, together with the Surabaya Trade Order Supervision Hall (BPTN) of the Ministry of Trade, carried out the enforcement at a warehouse located at Jalan Kalimas Baru Number 60 G on January 13, 2025. The findings included 463 textile ball press suspected to be of illegal import origin.
The second location is in the waters around Patimban Port, Subang, West Java. Bakamla carried out the enforcement on the Ferrindo 5 Motor Vessel (KMP) from Pontianak on January 30, 2025.
Bakamla secured three trucks loaded with 1,200 ballpress of illegally imported textiles. The suspected violations included the cargo of bales suspected of being imported without import permit documents such as Import Approval and Surveyor Reports, as well as violations of the obligation to label in Indonesian.
Budi Santoso emphasized that importing these textile products and second-hand clothes is prohibited as it violates regulations. He added, “These violations also threaten public health and the domestic textile industry.”
The import of second-hand clothing violates the provisions of the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 40 of 2022 on Amendments to Minister of Trade Regulation Number 18 of 2021 on Prohibited Export and Import Goods. Meanwhile, the illegal import of textile products violates the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 36 of 2023 on Import Policies and Regulations as amended several times, most recently by Minister of Trade Regulation Number 8 of 2024. Additionally, these illegal products violate Minister of Trade Regulation Number 25 of 2021 on Goods Required to Use or Complete Indonesian Language Labels.
“Businesses that import goods not following the regulations may be subject to administrative sanctions in the form of written warnings, temporary suspension of business activities, and/or revocation of business licenses. This is based on Article 12 Paragraph (1) jo. Article 166 Paragraph (1) Government Regulation (PP) Number 29 of 2021 jo. Article 61 Paragraph (1) Minister of Trade Regulation Number 36 of 2023. Furthermore, based on Article 61 Paragraph (2) Minister of Trade Regulation Number 36 of 2023, sanctions for goods suspected of being illegal imports include re-export, destruction, withdrawal from distribution, and other sanctions under the legislation,” Budi Santoso concluded.
