IMPORT LICENSING SYSTEM OF INDONESIA

REPLIES BY INDONESIA to the QUESTIONS FROM THE United States^[1]

The following communication, dated 30 May 2023, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Indonesia.

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In 2021, the Government of Indonesia began implementing a Commodity Balance policy as a new component of the process for managing import licence applications. In the April 2022 meeting of this Committee, the United States asked whether Indonesia intends to notify Presidential Regulation No. 32/2022 to the relevant bodies of the WTO. To date, the United States has not received a response to this question. Can Indonesia clarify whether it intends to notify this measure to the WTO?

Reply:

Regarding notifications, Indonesia is still coordinating amongst several Government Agencies whether relevant to notify the regulation in the Committee of Import Licensing.

The Commodity Balance policy appears to apply to applications for a range of commodities, including certain agricultural products. In recent years, some importers have reported experiencing significant delays in obtaining their import licenses for certain agricultural products, as well as reductions to the volumes received. Were these experiences related to the implementation of the Commodity Balance policy? Please explain how the Government of Indonesia is addressing these issues.

Reply:

In regard to the import of certain agricultural products, with the implementation of the Commodity Balance, the import licensing process will be expedited through the principles of simplification and transparency.

The Commodity Balance policy appears to be stipulated for certain commodities in different stages. For example, in 2021, the first stage stipulated that commodity balances would exist for rice, sugar, beef, salt, and fisheries. Please explain how the Government of Indonesia determines to which commodities the Commodity Balance policy will apply.

Reply:

The determination of commodities to be included in the Commodity Balance is based on the readiness considerations of the relevant Government Agencies. Each Government Agency has varying capabilities to integrate into the Commodity Balance system. This is part of Indonesia's effort to ensure easiness and expedited import licensing regime through an integrated system of Commodity Balance.

With respect to the commodities for which a commodity balance has not been stipulated, which process does the Government of Indonesia utilize to manage applications for import approvals?

Reply:

For the process of applying for import licenses for commodities that have not been determined by the Commodity Balance, the application process is carried out electronically through the Indonesia National Single Window System (SINSW) while fulfilling the requirements that have been established and complying with the timeframe specified in the import licensing agreement."

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