Manual in bahasa a must for electronic goods

Manual in bahasa a must for electronic goods

JAKARTA (JP): All electronics products sold in Indonesia must
be accompanied by manuals and guarantee cards written in the
Indonesian language, according to a new decree issued by the
Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The ministry said on Thursday the new regulation required
electronics manufacturers to provide manuals containing complete
information about the product's use, maintenance and
specifications.

The new regulation also requires electronics manufacturers to
provide at least a one year guarantee for their products, the
guarantee card of which must clearly state that no charge will be
imposed for maintenance during the period.

"Violators of the regulations will face revocation of their
Industrial License (IUI) or Industrial Registration Notice (TDI),
Importer Registration Number (API) or Exporter all together," the
ministry said.

The ministry said non-government organizations would be
involved in the monitoring of the regulation together with a
special team made up of officials from the police force, the
district attorney's office, the directorate of customs and
excise, the directorate of tax, the directorate of metal,
machinery and various products as well as the directorate of
domestic trade.

The ministry said both the manual booklets and guarantee cards
must be registered with the Directorate General of Metal,
Machineries, Electronics and Various Industries and the
Directorate General of Domestic Trade.

Manuals and guarantee cards which undergo changes in content
information must be reregistered with the two directorates.

The ministry added that only registered and licensed producers
and importers could register the manuals and guarantee cards with
the directorates.

The ministry said complete manuals and guarantee cards in
bahasa were very important to enable Indonesian customers to
better use the products.

It added that the new decree was also part of the government's
campaign to reduce the distribution of smuggled products, which
come with manuals, but not in bahasa, into the Indonesian market.

In order to reduce the smuggling of electronic goods into the
country, the government has also required that all imported
electronic goods be checked by customs officers, apply the
Indonesian standardized measure (SNI) for certain electronics
products and restructure the regulation on luxury tax.

The decree comes into effect in February 2000. (cst)