Diana Mariska, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Customs and Excise says it has simplified the import requirements for medical equipment as the government continues to battle the coronavirus epidemic in Indonesia.The new policy was based on a ministerial regulation issued by the Health Ministry, which prescribes the relaxation of import for certain types of medical equipment to help the government contain the outbreak.

Importing medical equipment needed to treat Covid-19 patients now no longer requires a distribution permit, only a permit exemption recommendation from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

"Imports of medical equipment, in-vitro diagnostic medical devices and household health supplies used in Covid-19 mitigation do not require a distribution permit or a Special Access Scheme (SAS). They only need a permit exemption recommendation from the BNPB," a statement from the Customs Office read.

Previously, imports of medical equipment require the distribution permit or SAS from the Health Ministry.

To request the permit exemption recommendation from the BNPB, importers have to go to the Finance Ministry's Indonesia National Single Window website.

After filling out an application form and uploading the required documents according to the application type, applicants will be able to track the status of their application. The system will issue an approval or rejection after a review.

For non-commercial imports, applicants should submit the recommendation to the Customs Office, who will process the request by issuing a Finance Ministry letter (SKMK) for customs, excise and import tax exemption.

Next, they have to submit the documents for an import declaration (PIB) to the Customs Office with the details of the SKMK and BNPB recommendations attached. The customs clearance will be given after all these requirements are met.

For commercial imports, the applicants can directly request the import declaration letter by submitting the details of the BNPB recommendation. They will receive a customs clearance once their application is approved.

To assist the government's Covid-19 mitigation efforts, the Customs Office had also announced an excise duty exemption for ethyl alcohol – the basic ingredient for hand sanitizer.

A recommendation letter from state agencies involved in disaster mitigation is required to apply for the exemption.

For further information on the new import policies related to Covid-19 mitigation, a hotline is available on 1500225.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/customs-office-simplifies-import-requirements-for-medical-equipment