By easing import procedures of certain goods related to health and hygiene such as medical devices, personal protective equipment and even tissues and baby diapers, the Indonesian government aims at ensuring the supply of such goods in support of its effort to combat the pandemic, as well as to meet the demand of the local market.
The Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) of the Ministry of Finance, together with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), have set a joint Standard Operational Procedure to accelerate the import of goods in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulation, BNPB Decree Number 01/ BNPB/2020 and DJBC Decree Number 113/BC/2020, came into force on March 20, 2020, and will last until the end of the emergency situation as determined by the government.
The ease of the import of goods relating to COVID-19 countermeasures is in the form of exemption from import customs and excise, Value Added Tax (PPN) and/or Sales Tax on Luxury Goods (PPnBM), 22 Import Income Tax (PPh 22), and also import procedure (Tata Niaga Impor) for individuals/private companies that import for commercial activities.
Goods related to COVID-19 countermeasures are all items recommended by BNPB including - as mentioned by Minister of Finance Mrs. Sri Mulyani Indrawati in a press conference held on March 18, 2020 - medical devices, Personal Protective Equipment, masks, and hand sanitizer.
The Ministry of Finance, which in this regard is acting as the secretary to the government-mandated COVID-19 task force, has established schemes to allow the State Government, Local Government (Pemda), Public Service Agency (BLU), foundations or non-profit institutions, as well as individuals/private parties to use the facilitation.
Following those schemes, the Ministry of Trade has further issued a regulation that allows certain goods to be imported without the provision of a Surveyor Report (LS) in the country of origin or the port of loading. This relaxation, stipulated under Regulation of the Minister of Trade No. 28/2020 concerning the Eighth Amendment to the Regulation of the Minister of Trade No. 87/M-DAG/PER/10/2015 regarding Provisions on Importation of Certain Products, will be available until June 30, 2020.
The types of goods that are excluded from the LS provision are:
- Room air freshener preparations containing disinfectants or not;
- Paper and tissue, impregnated or coated with deodorizers or cosmetics;
- Antiseptic products containing soap or not;
- Stocking for varicose sufferers, from synthetic fibers;
- Medical protective clothing;
- Clothing used for protection from chemicals or radiation;
- Surgical clothing;
- Examination gowns made from man-made fibers;
- Surgical masks;
- Other masks made of nonwoven material, other than surgical masks;
- Infrared thermometer; and
- Sanitary towels, sanitary tampons, baby diapers and similar articles of material other than textile, paper or pulp for disposables.
This regulation is a follow up to the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 9 of 2020 on Amendments of Presidential Decree No. 7/2020 on the COVID-19 Task Force, which also stipulates the acceleration of goods import required to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. As Indonesia does not produce enough of these goods locally on its own, nor does it produce any for some of the aforementioned goods, such as COVID-19 testing kits, the Indonesian government aims at ensuring that there is enough in supply for both the government鈥檚 effort in fighting the pandemic, as well as for the local market.