Indonesia Exempts Duties and Taxes on COVID-Fighting Imports

Update: This article has been updated with how you can work with Janio to better access these tax exemptions.

With the COVID-19 outbreak still ongoing, countries have been exploring different avenues to curb the spread of the virus, including ramping up supplies of medical equipment and materials.

This April, Indonesia announced a new temporary regulation, PMK 34/PMK.04/2020, to exempt from duties and taxes the imports of 73 types of products targeted at combating the outbreak, subject to certain terms and conditions.

These products fall under the following categories below:

For an order of imports of these products to be eligible for tax and duties exemption, it needs to meet certain conditions:

• Some types of items don’t need approval from local authorities before they can be delivered. You can check with your service provider whether your product category requires this approval or not.
  • Some items need to be below a maximum quantity depending on the item shipped
• The order must have a total order value of less than or equal to USD 500
• The consignee’s Indonesian Tax ID number (NPWP – Nomor Pokok Wajib Pajak) needs to be provided before the shipment can be delivered

The exceptions that don’t need approval include product categories like hand sanitizers and products containing disinfectants; multivitamins and vitamins C, B, and A; and most personal protective equipment. However, they are subject to maximum quantity limits in order to be eligible for the tax exemption.

This regulation will apply until the Indonesian Board of National Disaster Management (Badan Nasional Penganggulangan Bencana – BNPB) deems the pandemic over.

We’ve also updated our merchant portal to help your shipments be eligible for the tax exemption easier. If you have access to Janio’s merchant portal, we’ve added Covid 19 tax-exempted items (Approval not required) and Covid 19 tax-exempted items (Approval required) to the list.

COVID-19 tax-exempt categories (need approval and don’t need approval) have been added to the Category drop-down list (image 1/2)

COVID-19 tax exempt categories (need approval and don’t need approval) have been added to the Category drop-down list (image 2/2)

By inputting these options, a prompt will appear for you to fill in your customer’s NPWP number. Please note that If the NPWP is not provided, the order will not be eligible for tax exemption.

If you are using bulk freight for eligible products, you can download a new CSV template to enter NPWP numbers for your orders

To get more details about how these exemptions can help you, such as which categories do not require approval and how to handle orders that need approval, do reach out to our supply chain consultants below.

Janio is a cross-border logistics service provider that simplifies eCommerce deliveries in Southeast Asia. Combining technology with market knowledge, Janio provides an effective end-to-end logistics solution, including international cash-on-delivery and customs clearance, where shippers can manage international shipments on a single platform.