Pay attention to exporting to this Southeast Asian country! Customs clearance encountered the Great Demon King!

 

Foreign traders who have exported to Indonesia are more or less familiar with the term "red light period for customs clearance" that makes them feel scared when they hear it.

 

In Indonesia, customs are divided into red light customs and green light customs. Red light customs is a protection policy for local enterprises in Indonesia. If a certain export goods have a red light at Indonesian customs, customs will conduct strict inspections on the export enterprise's goods in order to protect similar goods produced locally. It is common for goods to stay at customs for several months.

 

The red light period usually lasts from December at the end of the year to March of the following year. At this time, Indonesian customs will cooperate with other law enforcement departments to conduct strict inspections on import customs clearance. Customs clearance procedures require more procedures and longer time than before. If not handled properly, it will also incur more costs. For some red license plate titles, they will be inspected 100%.

 

This year's situation will be even more severe.

 

Throughout this year, Indonesia has repeatedly destroyed illegally imported goods, including clothing, textiles, electronic products, ceramics, and more. The specific reason is that according to Indonesian disclosure, there is a significant difference between the BPS data of textiles and textile products, clothing and accessories, ceramics, electronic products, cosmetics, shoes, and other textile products imported into Indonesia and the data of the country of origin. The value recorded in the country of origin is 360 million US dollars, but the Indonesian record is only 116 million US dollars.

 

In June, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade announced that it would impose 100% to 200% safeguard tariffs on imported products ranging from shoes to ceramics, restarting plans to protect domestic industries.

 

In July, Indonesia officially established a special task force to rectify illegal imports, regulating the types of goods including textiles and textile products (TPT), other textiles, electronic products, shoes, clothing, ceramics, as well as beauty products or cosmetics. According to Indonesian officials, the proliferation of grey cleaning or illegal imported products that the special task force is focused on cracking down on in Indonesia has led to a huge trade gap.

 

In October, the Indonesian Ministry of Industry announced the implementation of mandatory Indonesian National Standards (SNI) for 16 industrial products to ensure their safety, health, and environmental compliance, including prestressed steel wires, valves, tiles, safety shoes, and more.

 

According to relevant practitioners, all ports in Indonesia have entered a "red light" state, and various docks and warehouses have received unprecedented strict inspections.

 

Recent export tips to Indonesia

 

However, as the largest economy and population in Southeast Asia, Indonesia's market potential cannot be underestimated.

 

When we export to Indonesia, we need to pay attention to the following in addition to receiving the final payment before shipment:

 

For different types and quantities of goods, it is necessary to clarify the information of the goods before shipment. It is necessary to communicate with local merchants in Indonesia about the latest customs policies and whether this type of product will encounter clearance obstacles. If necessary, it is also necessary to combine with a capable destination port agent.

 

If Indonesian merchants do not have the corresponding import rights, or have import rights but shallow qualifications, they are generally more likely to be inspected (obtaining an import license API, or even applying for a Master List, does not mean that they can clear customs without obstacles). Therefore, DDP operation can be adopted, which means using some qualified import agents to complete customs clearance.

 

Regardless of whether it is DDP or DDU operation, it is recommended to apply for a 14 day free time of detention from the shipping company when booking, so that even if the clearance time is longer than usual, container rental can be avoided or reduced.

 

*Goods arriving in Indonesia must be taxed within 30 days. At Jakarta Port, after exceeding the deadline, the goods will be sent to a simple warehouse of the relevant supervisory agency, which is affiliated with the National Port Corporation. The goods can be stored there for 1 to 3 months. If they are not retrieved after the deadline, they will be auctioned in the warehouse of the port authority, and the proceeds from the auction will be used to pay storage fees. The remaining balance after deducting auction fees shall be retained for 3 years. If no one claims it after 3 years, it shall be handed over to the Indonesian treasury, and the goods shall not be returned until the customs duties are paid.

 

Since January 2016, Indonesia has been quite strict with many products, such as LED lights, machinery (old), machines (old), textiles, etc., which require SGS pre container inspection. After applying abroad and sending SGS NO., the carrier can make an appointment for pre container inspection. Therefore, the probability of getting stuck during customs clearance at the destination port is almost zero.

 

Confirm the corresponding import rights and qualifications with Indonesian buyers in China, and then clarify the container loading requirements. By doing the work well before shipment to the maximum extent possible, the import and export related work can be completed efficiently.

 

The exported goods must be consistent with the actual packing list. If the goods are found to be inconsistent with the actual packing list, invoice, and bill of lading copy during container inspection at the destination port, the resulting fines will also be quite expensive. Some customers prefer to use abbreviations or do not list details. Exporting to other countries is not a problem, but for products from Indonesia, as much detail as possible is necessary.

 

Before shipment, it is necessary to go through a professional export agency to review customs clearance documents, conduct a detailed inspection of the loading schedule, and try to be meticulous before shipment. The quantity of goods needs to be counted clearly, and any possible loopholes should be strictly reviewed and cleared before arranging shipment at the port of origin to avoid constant troubles at the destination port.

 

Another very important point is the verification risk of Indonesian FORM E.

 

There are foreign traders in the Indonesian market, please remind each other to pay attention!