Indonesia task force seizes 46.1 billion rupiah in illegal imports

The Task Force on Illegal Imports, consisting of the Ministry of Trade, Customs and Taxation and the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung), confiscated Rp 46.1 billion worth of illegally imported products.The Minister of Trade, who is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Task Force on Illegal Imports, disclosed that illegally imported goods are seized because they do not comply with import compliance with applicable laws and regulations, which include the absence of a Permit for Importation (PI) document, a Report of Importation Inspection (LS) document, or the absence of an Import Registration Number. As a follow-up to the establishment of the Working Group, as stated in the Decree, action has been taken by the Working Group on the Regulation of Certain Goods Implemented by the Import Trade Procedure, which is composed of ministries and agencies, and is enforced by the State Administration for certain goods, pursuant to the Decree of the Minister of Trade on the Regulatory Working Group, No. 932 of 2024. As a follow-up to the regulation, the working group has seized goods suspected of being illegally imported.

The Minister of Trade explained that the confiscated items included 1,883 packages of old clothes, which had been successfully confiscated by the working group. Subsequently, Tanjung Priok Customs confiscated 3,004 packages of used clothes and the Ministry of Trade confiscated 20,000 rolls of rolled fabric (TPT). Sikarang Customs also confiscated 695 finished products (carpets, towels, furniture), 332 packages of textiles, 43 cosmetics, 371 footwear, 6,578 electronic products and 5,896 clothing products. The total value of the products was therefore Rp 46.1 billion, with a potential loss to the country of Rp 18 billion. Considering these findings, the Trade Minister assessed that the scale of illegal imports into the country was very large and widespread. In fact, based on the reports he received, the individuals who carried out the illegal imports were foreigners (WNA) working with large distributors. He therefore asked all stakeholders to work together to curb the proliferation of illegal importation. In large wholesale centers such as Tanah Abang and Mangga Dua, many of the imported goods are not fully equipped with documents and the sales are done online. They are therefore asking for the cooperation of all parties to be able to regularize the situation, which is a constant complaint made to them by the industry.