Four Foreign Private Yachts Sealed in Jakarta Bay, Here's the Reason

A joint team from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) and the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) under the Ministry of Finance has sealed four illegal luxury foreign yachts that were anchored at a private island in the Jakarta Bay area, North Jakarta.

The Head of Enforcement Section II at the Jakarta Customs Region Office, Siswo Kristyanto, explained that the yachts were discovered during a surveillance patrol conducted by Jakarta Customs officers and the North Jakarta Tax Directorate on Monday afternoon, 30 March 2026.

“This activity involved inspecting foreign tourist vessels in Jakarta Bay,” Siswo said in a written statement on Tuesday (31/3/2026).

During the patrol, officers found four foreign vessels suspected of violating vessel declaration provisions, which were placed on a private island. The sealing was carried out after an inspection.

For information, vessel declaration is a customs notification facility used for Temporary Importation and also for re-export of Foreign Tourist Vessels (yachts or cruises and/or spare parts). This is as stipulated in Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 261 of 2015.

“We carried out sealing or temporary attachment on foreign tourist vessels that we suspect of violations. The total sealed in Jakarta Bay is around 4-5 vessels,” he said.

He explained that the sealed foreign tourist vessels are principally granted exemptions from import duties and taxes for importation, as they are submitted for recreational activities in Indonesian territory.

However, in reality, Siswo said, his side received information that the foreign tourist vessels were misused for business purposes or as a scheme to rent them out by exploiting the vessel declaration facility.

“We suspect some are misusing the facility (vessel declaration), such as by renting them out or transferring ownership (selling) to people in Indonesia,” he clarified.

Currently, Siswo said, his side together with the Directorate General of Taxes is still conducting research on state losses due to the alleged violations of the foreign tourist vessels. This research is also for applying sanctions beyond administrative sanctions such as sealing.

“The losses are still under investigation, but from the state revenue side, one vessel is subject to 5% import duty, 10% income tax, 11% VAT, and about 75% luxury goods tax per unit,” he revealed.

Previously, Jakarta Customs also examined 82 private yachts or yachts that were in the waters and docked at Batavia Marina two weeks ago.

The Head of the Jakarta Customs Region Office, Hendri Darnadi, emphasised that this series of steps is part of efforts to optimise state revenue from the circulation of luxury goods, eradicate the underground economy, and enforce fiscal equity for citizens.

“The lower class, MSMEs, even those buying motorcycles for their work, such as online motorcycle taxis, still pay duties and taxes, fulfilling their obligations on the motorcycles they buy. Why should those buying high-value goods and luxury goods not pay according to their obligations,” said Hendri Darnadi.