Review Tax Exemption Rules for Hajj Pilgrims' Souvenirs, Excluding Proxy Shopping Services

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) of the Ministry of Finance is providing import duty and tax exemption facilities for goods carried or shipped by Indonesian Hajj pilgrims during the 2026 Hajj season. Head of Import Section III of DJBC, Ministry of Finance, Chinde Marjuang Praja, explained that the tax exemption initiative stems from considering the high demand for Hajj services from various societal classes. “Long queues and usually Hajj pilgrims save for years. So, this is indeed a very special condition for Hajj pilgrims in Indonesia, which underlies our provision of better facilities,” Chinde said during a media briefing on Customs Services and Facilities for Hajj Pilgrims held virtually in Jakarta on Thursday. The exemption facility applies to goods carried directly or sent via postal services, as regulated in Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 4 of 2025. However, this fiscal relaxation only applies to pilgrims using official quotas, namely regular Hajj pilgrims and special Hajj pilgrims with their respective provisions. Meanwhile, non-quota Hajj pilgrims, commonly known as furoda Hajj, are not entitled to this customs facility because they are not registered in the government system and are considered to have higher economic capacity. The facility also only applies to personal goods used personally, including souvenirs. Goods on behalf of others, often called jastip (proxy shopping service), are not eligible for the facility. “So, souvenirs that are indeed from the pilgrims themselves, not those that are proxies. If it’s jastip, it is indeed excluded from this facility,” he clarified. Regarding the incentive provisions, there are differences in facilities for regular Hajj pilgrims and special Hajj pilgrims in terms of passenger baggage carried directly by the pilgrims. Regular Hajj pilgrims receive full exemption facilities for all baggage. For special Hajj pilgrims, the government sets a maximum customs value or Free on Board (FOB) exemption limit of $2,500. If the carried goods exceed that value, the excess will be subject to import duty collection of 10 percent and Value Added Tax (VAT) as per regulations, while Income Tax (PPh) is exempted.