In short. The declaration is already inside the All Indonesia arrival card, there is no separate paper. Duty-free: personal belongings and purchases up to $500 per person; on the excess you pay 10% duty and VAT. Per adult without excise: up to 1 litre of alcohol (from age 21), 200 cigarettes, 25 cigars or 100 grams of tobacco, e-cigarettes up to 140 sticks; everything above the limit is destroyed on the spot. Medicines with a prescription and for no more than 90 days, psychotropic ones for no more than 60 days and only in baggage, and narcotic painkillers are banned completely. Cash from Rp 100 million or the equivalent is declared. You go to the red channel with goods above the limits, goods for sale, animals and products made from them, medicines and a phone for IMEI registration.
Where it happens. Bea Cukai customs is right after the baggage belt. The declaration is already inside the All Indonesia arrival card, and no separate paper needs to be filled in. Based on the customs part of the form, the officer decides whether to let you through the green channel without a search or send you to the red one. Those on the green channel are also searched at random, so answer the form honestly.
Duty-free. Personal belongings, gifts and purchases worth up to $500 per person for each arrival pass without duty and taxes. If it is more expensive, you pay only on the excess: 10% duty and VAT, and for luxury goods a luxury tax as well. An example from customs answers: souvenirs worth $1,500, $500 pass free, and duty and VAT are charged on the remaining $1,000. Goods for sale, including those bought to order for acquaintances, do not get this allowance and are taxed in full.
Alcohol and tobacco. Per adult without excise:
- alcohol: up to 1 litre, only from age 21;
- cigarettes: up to 200 pieces, cigars: up to 25 pieces, tobacco: up to 100 grams;
- e-cigarettes: up to 140 sticks or 40 capsules, liquid for open systems up to 30 ml, for closed ones up to 12 ml.
The allowance for tobacco and e-cigarettes applies from age 18. If you bring several kinds, for example cigarettes and cigars, the allowance is split between them proportionally. Everything above the allowance is destroyed by a customs officer on the spot, with or without you present.
Medicines. You may bring medicines for yourself, but customs checks them, so mark them in the declaration. The rules are set by BPOM, the medicines control agency:
- everything needs a doctor's prescription or a hospital certificate, with a supply for no more than 90 days of treatment; a prescription from a doctor in your own country is accepted;
- without a prescription you may bring only over-the-counter medicines, and not many. In one answer BPOM writes "a supply for 3 days", in another "up to 30 tablets and up to 3 packs of cream, syrup or spray of each medicine". It is safer to get a prescription for everything you bring;
- psychotropic medicines, which include many sleeping pills and sedatives: allowed for foreigners with a prescription, for no more than 60 days, and only in baggage, they cannot be sent by post;
- narcotic medicines, which include strong opioid painkillers: banned completely, even with a prescription.
Customs may ask for the prescription and have you fill in a separate form. If there are no documents or something does not match, the medicine is confiscated and destroyed. Keep medicines in their factory packaging, and it is better to get the prescription in English. If you are not sure which group your medicine belongs to, ask BPOM before you fly: WhatsApp +62 812-1298-7545, email [email protected].
Cash. If you bring Rp 100 million or more, or the same amount in another currency, you must report it to customs. Cash, cheques and other payment documents all count. On entry you report no later than arrival, on exit before the exit stamp at passport control. Anyone who did not report pays a fine of 10% of the whole amount, but no more than Rp 300 million. Anyone who declared less than they carry pays 10% of the difference with the same cap. Foreign currency worth Rp 1 billion or more cannot be brought in or taken out by a private person in their own name, only companies do that.
Red channel. Go to the red channel if you bring:
- goods worth more than $500 in total, alcohol or tobacco above the limit;
- goods not for yourself: for sale, for business, bought to order;
- goods for a limited time that you will take back, and goods that were earlier taken out of Indonesia and are brought back;
- animals, fish, plants and products made from them, for example sausage, cheese, honey, seeds;
- medicines, weapons including air guns and bladed weapons, cartridges, explosives, narcotics, pornography;
- cash from Rp 100 million;
- a phone or tablet that you register by IMEI: this is needed by those who will stay with a local SIM card for longer than 90 days.
Baggage separate from you. A suitcase that arrived on another flight counts as your baggage, and the same allowances apply to it. The condition: it arrived no earlier than 30 days before you and no later than 15 days after your arrival if you flew, or 60 days if you came by sea. You need your passport and boarding pass for the paperwork. Baggage from the lost property service is cleared under the same declaration you arrived with.
What this means for you. Fill in the customs part of All Indonesia before you fly and answer honestly. If you bring only personal belongings and stay within the allowances, use the green channel. Bring medicines with a prescription and for no more than three months, and check sleeping pills and strong painkillers with BPOM first. Declare purchases worth more than $500 and cash from Rp 100 million: for cash you did not report, the fine is 10% of the amount.
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