JAKARTA: Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) announced a partial postponement of the implementation of Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 36 of 2023 relating to import policies and regulations regarding imported goods from abroad.
“So, currently what can be implemented will be done first, while we will discuss those that raise objections later. Maybe some of the implementation will be postponed until the socialization process is complete,” said Zulkifli, quoted by Antara news agency.
The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) will immediately send a letter to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (Menko) Airlangga Hartarto regarding the evaluation of the Minister of Trade Regulation.
“We will coordinate first with the Coordinating Minister,” said Zulhas to Republika on a separate occasion after monitoring the prices of basic commodities at Anyar Market, Central Bogor District, Bogor City, West Java, Monday (18 March).
However, the General Chair of the National Mandate Party (PAN) did not provide details about the substance that would be discussed with Coordinating Minister Airlangga.
“We will have a meeting first with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy,” he said.
Zulhas explained that the postponement of part of Minister of Trade Regulation 36/2023 was caused by the negative response received from many associations and the public.
The implementation of restrictions on the number of luggage carried by passengers from abroad is officially carried out by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Ministry of Finance, starting March 10, 2024.
The change occurred from post-border supervision to border control.
This luggage restriction applies to all passengers traveling abroad, including Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) who will return to their hometowns in Indonesia.
For passengers carrying goods exceeding the specified limit, Customs and Excise will apply import fees in accordance with applicable regulations.
An import duty rate of 7.5 percent and Value Added Tax (VAT) of 11 percent will be charged according to the type of goods carried.
However, Zulhas added that passenger luggage from abroad that is used as souvenirs or souvenirs will not be subject to customs duties.
The former chairman of the MPR said that the goods subject to customs levies were goods that exceeded the regulatory limits, such as two pairs of footwear products, two bags, five finished textile goods, five units of electronic goods with a total price of 1,500 US dollars.
Previously, Zulhas, last Thursday (14 March), stated that an evaluation or revision of Minister of Trade Regulation 36/2023 would be carried out soon.
The 61 year old minister defended Minister of Trade Regulation 36 solely to protect domestic industry.
