Customs and Excise Directorate General Will Not Be Dissolved by Prabowo

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed that President Prabowo Subianto is satisfied with the progress of improvements at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC).

He confirmed that the head of state has even given the signal that DJBC will not be dissolved, after the agency previously faced the threat of being disbanded by the President if it failed to reform and was to be replaced by Switzerland’s Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) from late last year.

“So the likelihood is that Customs and Excise will remain,” Purbaya said at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday (21/7/2026).

According to Purbaya, President Prabowo has now even commended DJBC for the improvements it has made, such as strengthening surveillance policies against illegal goods.

“If we look at the award or the President’s speech to Customs, Mr Prabowo has seen significant improvement at Customs,” Purbaya said.

“In the past he said dissolve it, now he has said in one cabinet meeting that Customs can be improved and must be improved — that is a clear signal that there is positive development at Customs recognised by our leadership,” he stressed.

Purbaya said Customs and Excise has even developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system to strengthen surveillance of goods entering and leaving Indonesia. The system is planned to be operational within the next two weeks.

“There is AI software in the field used at Customs headquarters that is linked to many locations across Indonesia. Two weeks from now, Mr Djaka said there can be a demonstration for the media to show that we are now more sophisticated than before,” Purbaya explained.

In Purbaya’s view, these improvements are inseparable from the overhaul of the Customs leadership carried out since the start of this year. The senior officials at Customs, he said, are now relatively better people.

“And they know that if they don’t perform well, the agency will be dissolved. Revenue growth is now above 6%, and looking at the black market it has declined considerably — smuggled goods have fallen sharply, and Customs is actively cracking down on the circulation of illegal cigarettes,” Purbaya said.

Purbaya added that Customs now no longer simply releases perpetrators of illegal goods distribution after seizing their cargo, but immediately seizes their transport vehicles as well, making the cost of distributing illegal goods far more expensive domestically.

“Now every truck or vehicle involved in illegal practices is held until cleared, so the cost of illegal practices becomes high. All customs offices are now full of trucks or cars that were carrying illegal goods,” he revealed.

For information, customs and excise revenue has continued to grow. As of Semester I-2026, state revenue from customs and excise reached Rp 152 trillion, up 3.4% from the Rp 147 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

The realisation up to the end of June 2026 is equivalent to 45.2% of this year’s state budget target of Rp 335 trillion. By year-end, Purbaya estimates customs and excise collections will reach Rp 320.6 trillion, or 95.4% of the target. Although short of target, this would still be higher than last year’s Rp 300.3 trillion.