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Govt postpones mandatory halal certification for MSMEs
The government has pushed back rules that will make halal certificates mandatory for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in the food and beverage industry.
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The government’s new halal logo is seen on March 14, 2022, on packages of imported instant noodles. (Antara)
T
he government has pushed back rules that will make halal certificates mandatory for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in the food and beverage industry, moving the deadline from October of this year to October 2026.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took the decision on Wednesday at a meeting with several cabinet members, including Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
“This policy measure to postpone mandatory halal certification for food and beverages in the SME [segment] is the government taking SMEs’ side. This postponement gives SMEs the chance to [obtain] their business identification number (NIB) and file for halal certification up until October 2026,” said Yaqut in a press statement on Thursday.
Halal certification is to become mandatory under Government Regulation No. 39 of 2021 on handling halal product assurance. Article 140 of the regulation states that mandatory halal certification must be obtained between Oct. 17, 2019, and Oct. 17, 2024.
“This decision was taken to protect businesses, especially SMEs, so they don’t get into legal trouble or face administrative sanctions,” said the minister.
The head of the ministry’s Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH), Muhammad Aqil Irham, said in the same press release that his party would discuss the technical arrangement of the postponement with the relevant ministries, including the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry.
He said the government needed to prepare a budget allocation to facilitate SMEs’ self-declaration under the halal certification program, since the BPJPH was running on a tight budget where it could only fund 1 million certificates a year.
