The Ministry Of Trade Opens The Door To The Widest Possible Import Of Medical Devices

Minister of Trade, Agus Suparmanto. (Photo by: Setkab)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) is working with related ministries and institutions including the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), in an effort to maintain the availability of medical devices and personal protective equipment in the midst of the outbreak of the corona virus or COVID-19.

One of the steps taken by the Ministry of Trade is to accelerate the importation of medical and personal protective equipment by issuing the Regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) Number 28 of 2020 concerning the Eighth Amendment to the Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 87 M-DAG / PER / 10/2015 concerning Provisions for the Import of Certain Products .

"Through this Minister of Trade Regulation, the Ministry of Trade relaxes or eases the import of certain products, especially related to the importation of medical equipment and personal protective equipment. These products are masks, medical clothes, gloves, and other medical devices," explained the Minister of Trade. ) Agus Suparmanto was quoted from the Secretariat's website, Thursday 26 March.

The import relaxation given is an exception to the only existing requirement, namely the provisions of the Surveyor Report (LS) in the country of origin or port of loading, and restrictions on ports of entry so that imports of these products do not require any licensing.

This relaxation will be given until June 30, 2020. The shipment of certain products only needs to be proven by a Bill of Loading (B / L). Technically, the Director General of Foreign Trade, Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana, explained that the types of goods that are exempted from the LS provisions are:

1. Room deodorizing preparations whether or not containing disinfectant;

2. Paper and tissue, impregnated or coated with fragrances or cosmetics;

3. Antiseptic products contain soap or not;

4. Stockings for varicose veins, from synthetic fibers;

5. Medical protective clothing;

6. Clothing used for protection from chemicals or radiation);

7. Surgical clothing;

8. Examination gown made of man-made fibers;

9. Surgical masks;

10. Other masks made of nonwoven material, other than surgical masks;

11. Infrared thermometer; and

12. Sanitary towels, sanitary tampons, baby diapers and similar articles of materials other than textiles, paper or disposable paper pulp.

"With the issuance of this Permendag, it is hoped that it can accelerate the entry of medical equipment needed during the COVID-19 pandemic so that the availability of equipment is sufficient and there is no shortage," said the Trade Minister.

This Permendag was issued as a follow-up to the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 9/2020. Through this Presidential Decree, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, stipulated that the import of goods used for handling COVID-19 received special treatment in import regulations.

The Minister of Trade explained that the Ministry of Trade had previously issued a ban on the export of masks, export raw materials, antiseptics and personal protective equipment through MOT 23/2020 which is valid until June 30, 2020.

"The availability of affordable medical equipment and personal protective equipment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is believed to be able to support the government's efforts to break the chain of spread of the corona virus," concluded the Trade Minister.