The Trade Ministry has released information saying that it has, as of the end of last year, revoked 1,104 import licenses in line with the enforcement of a 2008 ministerial regulation on imports of particular products.
“There are 1,104 IT licenses [registered importer licenses] that have been revoked,” the ministry’s director general for international trade Diah Maulida told reporters Tuesday.
The ministry, she added, issued over 4,000 IT licenses for categories of goods stipulated in the regulation.
She said the licenses were withdrawn because the importers had made no imports throughout the year despite the permits.
A revision to the existing regulation is deemed necessary because it does not stipulate whether the errant importers could apply for new licenses.
“We will include that stipulation in the revised version of the regulation,” said Diah.
The existing regulation, effective on Jan. 1, 2009, controls imports of garments, footwear, food and beverages, electronics and children’s toys to protect the domestic market from smuggled goods.
Imports of those categories of goods may only enter the country through five designated ports and one international airport, according to the regulation.
The five ports are Belawan Port in Medan, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Tanjung Mas in Semarang, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya and Soekarno-Hatta in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.
For food and beverage products, the Dumai Port in Riau is also made available for imports. Products under these categories attempting to enter the country through any other port will be declared illegal.
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