New Importation Procedures for Prioritised Goods
Presidential Regulation Number 58 of 2020 on the Arrangement and Simplification of Import Licensing (“PR 58/2020”) was issued to simplify import licensing procedures for certain goods, depending on availability, production, price and national interest. This regulation applies to goods that are (i) essential goods and food commodities; (ii) foodstuffs for government food reserves; (iii) raw materials or supporting materials; (iv) goods and raw materials for disaster prevention and mitigation; and/or (v) other goods as stipulated by the government (together, “Prioritised Goods”).
The type of import license for Prioritised Goods can be granted in the form of approval, registration, stipulation and/or acknowledgement (“Import License”). The Import Licenses are granted by the Minister of Trade (“MoT”) once it receives the required documents to obtain Import License. A business actor is required to provide the following required documents issued by the minister having oversight of the sector relevant to the imported goods:
- licenses;
- approvals or approval letters;
- statement letters;
- recommendations;
- technical considerations;
- statements of the sufficiency of demand, production of basic commodities or government food reserves; and/or
- any other import requirements depending on the regulations in the relevant sector. (“Import Requirements”)
PR 58/2020 regulates new procedures to grant business actors with Import Requirements without having to fulfill the technical requirements stipulated in the relevant regulations in each sector, based on the decision of coordination meeting organised by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and attended by the minister/head of the related sector/head of the non-ministerial government department, or their authorised representatives (“Coordination Meeting”). The grant of Import Requirements for Import License must follow technical requirements in the relevant regulations in each sector. This Coordination Meeting can be held by videoconference or teleconference.
In certain conditions, the Coordination Meeting can decide to either suspend or waive Import Requirements while at the same time still comply with health, security, safety and environmental aspects. The certain conditions regulated in PR 58/2020 cover the (i) urgent needs or increase in price that exceeds the level of reasonableness; (ii) lack of or limited supply of such goods within the country or internationally; and/or (iii) trade traffic barriers and/or disruption in distribution flow.
Presidential Regulation Number 59 of 2020 on the Amendment of Presidential Regulation Number 71 of 2015 on the Stipulation and Storage of Essential Goods and Basic Commodities (“PR 59/2020”) stipulates that the types of goods deemed to be essential goods and/or basic commodities are as follows:
| Essential Goods: | ||
| · Agricultural Products | · Industrial Products | · Livestock and Fisheries |
| o Rice; o Soybeans as the main ingredient for tofu and tempe; o Chillies; o Red onions | o Sugar; o Cooking oil; o Flour | o Meat; o Chicken meat; o Chicken eggs; o Fresh fish such as mackerel, milkfish and tuna. |
| Important Goods: | ||
| · Seeds such as rice, corn and soy seeds | · Fertiliser | · LPG gas 3 kg |
| · Plywood | · Cement | · Construction steel |
| · Light steel | ||
Based on our online consultation with the MoT officials, to date, there is still no application for Coordination Meeting to be held and specific regulations for the importation of each of the goods, including the goods listed in PR 59/2020 are still applicable. This means that the MoT still requires business actors to fulfill Import Requirements to obtain the Import License.
If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact contact Hanim Hamzah or Andina Sitoresmi of Roosdiono & partners (a member of ZICO Law).
This alert is for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice.