The Indonesian Ministry of Trade, or Kemendag, has announced that they will no longer allow the entry of illegal secondhand clothing into the country. This decision was made after local traders raised concerns about the dwindling supply of smuggled products.
Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan confirmed that the supply of secondhand clothing and other second-hand goods will be stopped completely. He stated, “There will be no more coming in, and we will take action against all of them.”
Kemendag will focus on handling the circulation of second-hand clothes at its source and will deal directly with smugglers. Zulkifli Hasan emphasized that smugglers of imported clothes will face law enforcement officers and will be subject to criminal penalties.
He said, “They will be subject to criminal penalties, and law enforcement must be permanently enforced.”
The Indonesian government has a regulation in place regarding importer sanctions, which is outlined in Article 47 of Law No. 7/2014 concerning Trade.
This regulation requires importers to import goods in a new condition, and importers who do not comply with this regulation will face administrative sanctions or other penalties. Article 53 of the same law stipulates that importers who are subject to administrative sanctions must re-export their goods, destroy them, or determine another course of action with the Minister.
As previously reported, Indonesians have been showing a growing interest in buying second-hand items from abroad, such as clothes and shoes. In response to this trend, the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) has clarified that all used goods fall under the regulations governing prohibited exports and imports or restricted goods (lartas), including used shoes.
This regulation is included in Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 40 of 2022 concerning Amendments to Minister of Trade Regulation Number 18 of 2021 concerning Prohibited Export Goods and Prohibited Import Goods.
According to this regulation, second-hand clothing and other used goods fall under goods that are prohibited for import with a tariff position or HS 6309.00.00, with the description “Used clothing and other used goods” and listed in Part IV as “Types of used bags, used sacks, and used clothing.”
Moga Simatupang, Acting Director General of Consumer Protection and Trade Order (PKTN) at Kemendag, explained that HS 63090000 already represents all used goods as it is described as used clothing and other used goods.
According to him, the description “other used goods” already represents all used goods. Therefore, all used goods are prohibited from being imported into the country, let alone being sold.
