Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Monday he will order the Customs and Excise Directorate to strengthen inspections at ports to combat the flow of illegal imports, particularly secondhand apparel and accessories.
Purbaya said focusing enforcement efforts at entry points would be more effective than raiding markets that sell illegally imported goods.
"I will not target the markets. I'll focus only on the ports. Once the supply decreases, illegal goods will automatically decline," Purbaya was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
He added that as the availability of illegal products diminishes, consumers would gradually shift to legal alternatives.
The minister said he has no immediate plans to coordinate with the Trade Ministry, as enforcement currently falls under the jurisdiction of the Customs and Excise Directorate, which operates within his ministry.
Last week, Purbaya announced plans to impose financial penalties on importers of illegal apparel, arguing that previous measures – such as imprisonment and the destruction of seized goods – imposed additional costs on the state without generating revenue.
He also claimed to possess a list of key players involved in illegal clothing imports and pledged to block their import licenses.
Indonesia has banned the import of used clothing since 2022, but enforcement remains a persistent challenge.
The Indonesian Filament and Fiber Producers Association (APSyFI) estimates that the illegal import of secondhand apparel costs the country up to Rp 54 trillion ($3.3 billion) annually, forcing dozens of textile companies to shut down and triggering widespread layoffs over the past three years.
In a letter sent earlier this month, APSyFI Chairman Redma Gita Wirawasta told the finance minister that data from the International Trade Centre shows an average of 10,000 unrecorded import containers per month entering Indonesia without customs declaration.