Big shake-up in Indonesia: customs overhaul sends compliance risk soaring

       Indonesia’s Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has publicly vowed a root-and-branch reform of the Directorate-General of Customs & Excise, warning that if the agency fails to restore its reputation and performance within a year it will be frozen and replaced by Swiss inspection giant SGS.

       For years Indonesians have dubbed customs a "cash-collection hotspot"; one second-hand clothing trader claims a single container can cost IDR 550 million in illicit fees to clear. The minister has zeroed in on two priorities—under-invoiced export invoices and smuggling of prohibited goods.

       December–March is Indonesia’s annual "red-light period", when new importers, incomplete documents, high-risk cargoes or shipments from high-risk countries face near-100 % physical inspection. This year, with the agency under intense scrutiny, the red-light rules are stricter than ever.

       Exporters report that Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok and Tangerang ports are now opening every box in categories deemed high-risk—textiles, electronics, cosmetics, ceramics, children’s toys—checking for valid SNI certification, import quotas and licences. Even correctly declared values are being challenged as "under-valued".

       To plug the gap, Jakarta will roll out a centralised X-ray system by March 2025. All scan images will be streamed in real time to a central processing hub; compliance calls on value, classification and irregularities will be made by a central team, not by port-level officers.

Shippers should expect the screw to tighten further during the current red-light plus crack-down window—plan for longer clearance times and bullet-proof documentation before cargo sails.