The Indonesian government is preparing a cross border e-commerce regulation with the aim of controlling the flow of imported goods in the market. Currently, the government is reviewing import trends on e-commerce platforms. They are also in talks with e-commerce platforms officials and trade partners.
It is estimated that 9 out of 10 items sold in Indonesia’s e-commerce platforms such as Tokopedia, Lazada, Shopee and Bukalapak were imported. The Finance Ministry’s Customs and Excise Directorate General recorded a 9.11 percent growth in 2018 in imported products sold through e-commerce platforms.
Indonesian customers can purchase items directly from overseas through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Ali Express and eBay. For purchases below USD 75, buyers are not subjected to any import duties.
In 2018 the Indonesian government drafted PMK210/2018 to make all sellers and merchants on online platforms to be tax compliant. The marketplace platforms would have then become a tax deposit agent, with the responsibility to collect, record and deposit tax data for the Directorate General of Taxes of Indonesia. The regulation was supposed to take effect on 1 April 2019 but the implementation was halted to ensure better coordination between relevant government institutions and industry players.
(Sources: The Jakarta Post; Jakarta Globe)
