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How to avoid paying exorbitant import taxes on goods bought abroad
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video that has gone viral on social media depicting an unexpected customs check at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in South Tangerang, Banten, where a passenger arriving from Singapore carrying a luxury bag has to pay Rp 27 million ($3,600) in taxes for her S$7,000 bag, has worried several luxury-item enthusiasts.
Artasya Sudirman, a luxury-bag enthusiast, said the customs check worried her as she sometimes shopped abroad for items unavailable in Indonesia. “There is nothing wrong in enforcing this kind of check to encourage people to shop in Indonesia, but sometimes what we have here is very limited compared to what can be found abroad,” she said. “I think the regulation is somewhat restricting on shoppers, and personally, I would rather shop online going forward,” she added.
Wisnu Darmobroto, a frequent traveler, also voiced his concerns, “I’m really worried about the customs checks at airports. It scares me now to shop too much abroad, although I haven’t been asked to pay anything so far,” he said.
Read also: Strict checks on posh items
To ensure peace of mind when you bring home the items you buy abroad, here are several tips, as quoted from Kompas.com.
Fill the customs declaration correctly.
One must fill a customs declaration (CD) form upon entering the country. A CD is a notification for the customs about imported goods carried by passengers or crew on arrival. Fill the CD out truthfully, as the document will be used by officials to monitor passengers’ goods.
Be aware of duty-free limits.
Bringing what you buy abroad into Indonesia is a normal thing when you return from your vacation. However, perhaps surprisingly for some, it is still the same as importing the goods. As per normal, imported goods are subject to import taxes with various tariffs, depending on the type of goods. Currently, the government allows the importation of US$250 worth of goods per person or $1,000 per family. The government also allows the importation of 200 cigarettes, 25 cigars, 100 grams of cut tobacco and 1 liter of alcohol, free of import tax.
Being aware of this regulation will help you calculate how much import tax you have to pay upon entering Indonesia, should you bring more goods than the duty-free allowance.
International customs expert Robert Leonard Marbun, said via a statement to Kompas.com, “It’s important to know that every country has different rules about hand-carried goods from abroad. If a passenger brings a personal item under the regulation’s limit, it will not be subject to an import tax.”
