Smuggling Of Hundreds Of IPhone 16 Thwarted, Customs And Excise Promises To Destroy

Apple company/ Photo: Unsplash

TANGERANG - Soetta Airport Customs confiscated 102 iPhone 16 which did not have the government's official permit. Hundreds of illegal iPhone units were smuggled through passenger luggage from Batam.

"Apple brand cellphones were confiscated as many as 102 units, the mode was brought from Batam. They not only sent them to Soetta, but also at other airports," said Director General of Customs and Excise Askolani to wartawa, Friday, November 29.

Askolani said that this action was based on the regulation of Permendag number 08 of 2024 concerning the policy of imported goods that did not officially fulfill the government's permission.

Therefore, said Askolani, hundreds of iPhone 16 will be destroyed as a firm action by his side against the perpetrators of smuggling illegal goods.

"Of course we have to pay for the import duty and it is not done. And we carry it out according to the Minister of Trade Regulation 08 of 2024, so we act. We destroy the goods, nothing is auctioned off," he said.

Askolani ensured that his party would tighten strict supervision.

"In accordance with the regulation of the Minister of Trade and the provisions of the Ministry of Industry to protect our industry and our economy," he continued.

For information, the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) emphasized that the iPhone 16 should not be traded in the Indonesian market because Apple companies have not yet obtained domestic component-level certificates (TKDN).

"The iPhone 16 series that enter Indonesia are carried by passengers and paying taxes are luggage that cannot be traded, and are limited to the personal use of passengers," said Ministry of Industry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arief.