Legal Insights

Introducing Indonesia’s New Import Policy

On June 30, 2025, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade established Ministerial Regulation No. 16 of 2025 on Import Policy and Regulation (“MR 16/2025”) which will take force on 30 August 2025––60 (sixty) days after its establishment. This regulation replaces the previous framework stipulated within Ministerial Regulation No. 36 of 2023 and its amendments, representing a key step in the government’s ongoing deregulation efforts aimed at streamlining import activities in Indonesia. To achieve this goal, several changes to the existing policies are conducted as follows:

(1) Cluster-Based Import Regulations

The MR 16/2025, as the general import regulation, is followed by the issuance of 8 (eight) new ministerial regulations classified based on import commodity clusters. These cluster-based regulations are the first phase of import deregulation efforts. The clusters include:

1. Textiles and Textile Products
2. Agricultural and Livestock Goods
3. Salt and Fishery Commodities
4. Chemicals, Hazardous Materials, and Mining Materials
5. Electronics and Telematics Goods
6. Certain Industrial Goods
7. Consumer Goods
8. Goods in Non-New Condition and Non-Hazardous & Toxic Waste

(2) Relaxation of Import Prohibitions and Restrictions

The new import policy framework includes the relaxation of certain goods and commodities previously subjected under the Prohibited and Restricted Import category, as follows:

1. Forestry Products
2. Subsidized Fertilizer
3. Plastic Raw Materials
4. Other Fuels
5. Saccharin, Cyclamate, and Odor Preparations containing Alcohol (Surveyor Institution only)
6. Certain Chemicals (Surveyor Institution only)
7. Pearls (Surveyor Institution only)
8. Food Tray
9. Footwear (Surveyor Institution only)
10. Bicycles and Tricycles (Surveyor Institution only)

(3) Revocation of Business Licenses and Rejection of Import Approval in Certain Import Sectors

Through the enactment of MR 16/2025, business licenses in several sectors issued by the Ministry prior to the new regulation is revoked. Furthermore, all applications for Import Approval in several sector submitted before the enactment of MR 16/2025, and still in the issuance process, will be rejected electronically through the INATRADE system. The import sectors impacted comprise:

1. Forestry Products
2. Plastic Raw Materials
3. Subsidized Fertilizer
4. Certain Types of Fuels

Related Regulations Governing Business Activities

To support import deregulation, the Ministry of Trade also enacted Ministerial Regulation No. 26 of 2025 aimed to provide legal certainty in Indonesia's trade sector, which revokes several regulations related to trade and commerce, namely:

1. Ministerial Regulation No. 36/M-DAG/PER/9/2007 on the Issuance of Trading Business License and its amendments
2. Ministerial Regulation No. 22/M-DAG/PER/3/2016 on the General Provision for Goods Distribution and its amendment
3. Ministerial Regulation No. 25 of 2020 on Company Annual Financial Report
4. Ministerial Regulation No.4 of 2023 on Procurement and Distribution of Subsidized Fertilizers for the Agricultural Sector

The enactment of MR 16/2025 marks a significant step toward simplifying Indonesia’s import procedures. By easing restrictions and revoking outdated regulations, the government aims to enhance legal certainty and improve business efficiency. With further deregulation planned in upcoming phases, this overall shift is expected to support industrial growth. In this regard, affected stakeholders are advised to review the changes carefully and adjust their operational and compliance frameworks accordingly.