Govt. Introduces Voluntary Declaration Service for the Importation of Goods

The Minister of Finance (“Minister”) has issued Regulation No. 67/PMK.04/2016 on the Voluntary Declaration of Customs Value for the Calculation of Customs Entries (“2016 Regulation”). [1] The 2016 Regulation was issued with the ultimate aim in mind of easing the process of importing goods by introducing the so-called “voluntary declaration” service to importers. Through this service, instead of enclosing the actual transaction value of any goods being imported, importers are allowed to use an estimated transaction value as the basis for calculating the amount of payable import duty.The 2016 Regulation is of relevance to all importers.Voluntary DeclarationAs general rule, importers are required to disclose the transaction value of any imported goods to the relevant customs office in their Import Notifications (Pemberitahuan Impor Barang– “PIB”). This then becomes the basis for the calculation of any payable import duty. The transaction value refers to the actual sale and purchase price of any imported goods, including all of the relevant costs, fees and values. However, if a final transaction value cannot ultimately be ascertained accurately through the submission of a PIB, due to the fact that further costs will be incurred in the future, then importers are now allowed to provide an estimated transaction value through a process of voluntary declaration. [2] A voluntary declaration may be used by importers to estimate the following components of any transaction value: [3]