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Govt places extra import duties on bicycles, watches, cosmetics
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Go international: A worker cuts an iron bar on July 15, 2022 at Belawan International Container Terminal in Medan, North Sumatra. Belawan Port handles both export and import activities. (Antara/Fransisco Carolio)
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recent Finance Ministry regulation has placed new import duties on four types of products, with levies reaching some 40 percent of the product’s value in certain cases.
Under Finance Ministry Regulation No. 96/2023, the four products will be subject to most-favored nation (MFN) tariffs, meaning the it will depend of the regular rate based on the harmonized system (HS) code.
“The import of these products is affecting domestic industry growth,” said Fadjar Donny Tjahjadi, a director at the ministry’s Customs and Excise Office, in a press briefing on Thursday.
The four types of goods are cosmetics, now subject to a 10 to 15 percent import duty; iron and steel, subject to a rate of between 0 and 20 percent; bicycles, with a duty of between 25 and 40 percent; and wristwatches at 10 percent rate.
Previously, the ministry maintained higher-tier import duties for only three types of goods: textiles, footwear and bags with up to 30 percent rate. It also puts books under MFN tariffs, albeit with 0 percent import duty.
The higher levies replace a flat 7.5 percent import duty applicable to shipments with a freight-on-board (FOB) value of between US$3 and $1,500.
Donny claimed that an import influx of the targeted products could negatively affect local industries.
