Shipping to Indonesia can be tricky and a lot of hidden secrets that you may not know. Shipping to Indonesia it’s not like shipping to any other country as you need to understand a few things before you ship your goods to Indonesia.
Indonesia located in the region of Southeast Asia and Indonesia famously known as the most populous Muslim country in the world. The shipper needs to understand in mind that the list of banned products to Indonesia affected by religious belief as well.
Products such as psychotropic drugs, sexual related toys or publication, pork-related products, the information in regards to blasphemy of Muslim religion are not allowed to import to the country. Few other products such as alcohol are allowed with strict rules.
Even so, Indonesia is a liberal Muslim country, the shipper needs to understand that strict rules are needed to apply based on the list of banned items and restricted items to import the goods to Indonesia. Some of the list able to be check-in following the link below.
link: Why customs clearance in Indonesia is expensive and difficult?
Here we want to let u understand a few things that you might not know about shipping to Indonesia. Some are common and some not publicly known so please read carefully and do ask in the comment section if you have any further question. Some of the things about shipping to Indonesia that you may not have known are:
- Country of Origin where you send the goods matters for the customs duty officer. The country of origin has somewhat determined the first glance from the customs duty officers on the goods and products as the officer will conducting more checks if the goods coming from suspected illegal drugs producing countries or African nations. If the goods coming from a developed country, the customer will have more checks on the content compared to the declared pricing as mostly it might be undervalued.
- The shape of the packages plays a role in your shipping. Maybe you overlook, the importance of packaging is quite crucial as well while you ship your product through customs. Customs will take attention more to the weird unusual type of package when doing the checks. As weird shape made people feel curious what is the content inside the box. Do pack your products properly, here is some guide on packing your goods like professional
- The content described in the boxes could be suspicious by customs. Customs officials will do more physical checks of your goods when in doubts in regard to the goods. The usual word that most the shipper put on the package is “gifts or samples”, that we have been taught right, just put “gift or samples” then your goods will pass the customs easily. The answer is no, due to too many products been put under the terms so the customs might feel somewhat suspicious as mostly the goods are undervalued by the shipper. The correct way is to properly declare what category your goods into. Another thing is don’t put “personal goods” as well, it is too general. Write down some specific.
- Is there any suspicious label or writing in the box? Well, customs will have double check if there is an unusual label sticking on the box as in the example: industrial standard approved, military standard approve, hazardous content, or some caution handle with extreme care sticker as it could be some suspicious products inside.
- Bigger boxes will be checked more as customs will things that it is for commercial not for personal with the big sizes and probably the same type of products that the shipper sends. The best-recommended size for air shipment is standard 10-15 kg for maximum weight.
- The price you declared can determine as well whether your goods will be stuck in customs clearance or not. Price declared on the documents sometimes will have a quick glance from the customs as the customs will determine will it look suspicious compared to the size of the goods. Good or packages which have small size but high invoice amount or big sizes but the low invoice amount will be checked more. Packages that have the small size and high invoice determine the goods more into consumer goods or mobile phones (which have special extra tax) and if the package is in big sizes and low invoice value, the shipper might undervalue the goods.
- Another logic is customs will have more attention to the goods shipped by the big 4 express shipping as FedEx, DHL, TNT, or UPS compare to local post office such as USPS, Singapore Post, etc as the shipping cost usually have a significant difference between those 4 and the local post office charges internationally, the content of the goods must somewhat important. Well, sometimes it might not always true but whoever sits on business class means have more money.
- Do not avoid to pay tax, declared it properly. If you avoiding to pay the taxes, your goods and packages might be at risk. Better consult with your shipping agency in regard to proper documentation and invoice before starting the shipment to avoid any problem during the transit.
- Please bear in mind the list of prohibited items and restricted items before shipping your goods to Indonesia. Better check and check again as Indonesia has a reputation as one of the restricted and difficult countries to ship goods into.
- Ship your goods before holiday time or season in Indonesia is not a good option because your goods might be delayed due to more inflow of goods coming in or more checks conducted by customs duty officials.
- The number one commodity that the customs targeted are illegal drugs and psychotropic drugs in the content due to it is the easiest way to ship it through parcel compare to the risk and bring it themselves personally to the country. After the illegal drug shipment trade, the official will be targeting the tax evasion shipment that coming to the country
- If you have a few parcels and shipments and ship it at the same time will be considered as one invoice declaration per day. Bear in mind that the free tax of USD 3 in Indonesia is per person per day so it would be better to ship your product with a day in between to avoid a higher tax invoice.
- Shipment with content related to animal or plant products will get more checks than normal shipment goods. Smuggling of animal and the plant-related products is quite common to and from Indonesia. The illegal seed of typical drugs like marijuana or hashish or animal skin related products will have special attention by the customs official.
Please do keep checking with your shipping agency before commencing your shipping. Here is SindoShipping, We believe that our company’s purpose is to simplify the process of shipping your goods to Indonesia. Our main company jobs are:
- Help you arrange your shipment from the point of origin to your destination effortlessly. As if required, we can arrange the pick up based on your request and time of pick up for delivery purposes at the point of origin.
- Allow you to access the information at the real-time on where is the location of your goods during transit. We believe that our company needs to provide you with online real-time information where is the location is as we value your shipment and we understand how important it is for you to be able to locate your goods in every step of delivery until it reached your destination safely.
- Handle customs clearance and duty payment. With our expertise and our customs brokerage system, we will help you and your company to pay the tax to the customs and handle the paperwork based on Indonesia customs requests on behalf of you.
- Support the development of your company to the next level. As we believe that our job is to keep you and your company grow if you want to build a customer based in Indonesia as an online retailer or seller, our time-definite shipment will help you cater to your customer needs.
Do contact one of our staff to consult your shipment to Indonesia, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or email us now.
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