Heaptalk, Jakarta — Indonesia’s government officially established a Task Force for Supervising Certain Goods Subjects to Import Trade Regulations on Friday (07/19). The formation of this Task Force is stipulated in the Minister of Trade Decree Number 932/2024, enacted and prevailed on July 18th, 2024.
It established the Import Supervision Task Force, which was aligned with the government’s attempt to combat illegal imports. For this reason, based on the Fifth Dictum of Trade Minister Decree, it was determined that particular imported products and goods subject to import trade policy that do not comply with the provisions can be destroyed following the applicable laws witnessed by the Task Force.
“The cost of the destruction as referred to in the fifth dictum shall be borne by the importers,” Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Zulkfili ‘Zulhas’ Hasan, said during Friday’s inspection of illegal imported goods at the Warehouse Area in Kapuk Kamal, North Jakarta.
According to Minister Zulhas, around seven imported goods under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade, including:
- Textiles and Textile Products
- Ready-Made Garments and Accessories
- Ceramics
- Electronics
- Footwear
- Cosmetics
- Other finished textile goods
“The scope of certain types of goods subject to import trade policies can be changed based on the decision of the task Force Coordination Meeting on Certain Goods Subject to Import Trade Regulations, as stipulated in the Trade Minister Decree,” Zulhas affirmed.
On that occasion, Zulhas also praised the performance of the Goods Supervision Task Force, which successfully inspected illegal imported goods at a Warehouse Area in Kapuk Kamal, North Jakarta. In the warehouse, illegal goods included ready-made garments, children’s lunch bags, and electronics like rice cookers, blenders, electric drills, mobile phones, and tablets.
“This is not the Ministry of Trade but the Task Force. The Task Force is cracking down on suspected illegal products. During the investigation, goods valued at over Rp40 billion were found today,” said Zulhas after his inspection.
The details include Rpp2.7 billion from mobile phones and tablets, Rp20 billion from ready-made garments, Rp12.3 billion from electronics, and Rp5 billion from children’s toys. Zulhas explained that the importers are foreign nationals who rent the warehouses. The warehouses are also used for packing goods sold or marketed online. However, he did not disclose the identity of the importers as the investigation is still ongoing.
