Electronic Product Imports Tightened, Minister Of Industry Agus Reveals The Basic Rules

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita revealed the reason for the issuance of Minister of Industry Regulation (Permenperin) Number 6 of 2024 concerning Procedures for Issuing Technical Considerations for Importing Electronic Products. In this regulation, imports of electronic products are strictly regulated.

Agus assessed that the basis for the issuance of the regulation came from the Regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) Number 3 of 2024 concerning Amendments to the Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 36 of 2023 concerning Import Policy and Regulation. The regulation needs to be supported in order to develop the domestic industry.

"We have to look at the philosophy, the philosophy of the Permendag. In my opinion, to maintain and develop the domestic industry. With this Permendag, we hope that investments that will close industrial trees will not yet exist in Indonesia can be faster, we can achieve import substitutions quickly," he said at the Ministry of Industry Building, Jakarta, Tuesday, April 16.

In addition, the government is also obliged to ensure the availability of raw materials for industry players. According to Agus, if raw materials and auxiliary materials have been produced in Indonesia, later imports must be limited.

"The import restriction is related to the existence of the domestic industry itself. Especially from the need for raw and auxiliary materials. If it already exists and is produced in Indonesia, then importation must be limited," he said.

According to Agus, this is quite good for investment opportunities. The reason is, entrepreneurs can invest in providing a raw and auxiliary material industry in Indonesia.

"We see from the investment perspectives, it is an investor opportunity so that the raw and auxiliary material industry trees immediately enter and invest in Indonesia. This is part of us as a country that wants to develop the manufacturing industry," he added.

Previously, the Director of the Electronics and Telematics Industry (IET) of the Ministry of Industry Priyadi Arie Nugroho said that the regulation of this import flow was a follow-up to the president's directive on the condition of the trade balance for electronic products in 2023 which still showed a deficit.

Therefore, based on the consideration of proposals and capabilities of the domestic industry, it is stipulated that there are 139 electronic tariff posts regulated in Permenperin Number 6 of 2024, with details of 78 tariff posts applied for Import Approval (PI) and Surveyor Report (LS) and 61 other tariff posts applied only with LS.

"Some of the products included in the 78 tariff posts include air conditioning, television, washing machines, refrigerators, fiber optic cables, refrigerators, laptops and several other electronic products," Priyadi said as quoted from the Ministry of Industry's official website.