Regulation Watch · Business Licensing · Indonesia, including PT PMA and PT PMDN importers, import-licence holders, surveyors and businesses bringing regulated goods into Bali or other Indonesian customs areas, free-trade zones, special economic zones or bonded zones.
Import Licensing Gains Automatic Issuance and Tighter SINSW Enforcement
Permendag 18/2026 gives complete import-licence applications time-limited review and automatic electronic issuance, while tightening SINSW shipment matching, realization reporting and automated sanctions.
- Published
- Established on 3 June and promulgated on 4 June 2026 in State Bulletin 2026 No. 361.
- Effective
- Effective on promulgation, 4 June 2026. The amended Surveyor Report controls and the new freezing sanctions for specified reporting failures took effect 30 days later, on 4 July 2026.
- Added to Watch
- 29 September 2026
Who is affected
PT PMA and PT PMDN companies importing regulated goods; importers holding an Import Approval or other import business licence or certificate; directors; and licensing, customs, procurement, logistics, finance and compliance teams, together with surveyors and customs brokers.
Practical impact
Complete applications, amendments and Import Approval extensions submitted through INATRADE and forwarded to SINSW now operate under a defined administrative-review and decision timetable. After a maximum 15-working-day administrative review, a complete application must be issued or rejected within five working days; if no decision is produced in time, the system can issue the licence electronically. A complete extension pending when an Import Approval expires can also be issued automatically, subject to the rule's shipment-delay evidence. Customs and surveyor controls now match the licence number, date and validity, HS code, quantity, unit and destination port against SINSW data. Reporting failures trigger electronic warnings and, if not cured within 30 days, can freeze a licence or certificate and suspend further issuance, changes, extensions or surveyor services for the same commodity.
Late discovery: Minister of Trade Regulation 18/2026 was established on 3 June and promulgated on 4 June 2026 in State Bulletin No. 361. It took effect on promulgation and is the second amendment to Permendag 16/2025 on import policy and regulation. The specified Surveyor Report provisions and new licence or certificate freezing controls took effect 30 days later, on 4 July 2026.
The amendment gives import licensing a defined electronic decision path. Initial applications, amendments and Import Approval extensions are filed through INATRADE and forwarded to SINSW. Administrative examination may take up to 15 working days. Once the file is complete, the licence must be issued or rejected within five working days; if the authority does not act within that period, the system can issue it electronically. A complete extension application still pending when an Import Approval expires can also be issued automatically, but the delayed shipment must fall within the stated exceptional circumstances and be proven with a bill of lading or air waybill.
The change does not extend the life of an approval through amendment. An amended Import Approval or certificate keeps only the remaining validity of the original instrument. Importers therefore need to align licensing changes with production, loading and shipping dates rather than assuming the amendment restarts the approval period.
Shipment controls are more data-specific. SINSW and customs processing examine the licence number, date and expiry, HS code, quantity and unit, destination port and remaining allocation. The manifest date must fall within the approval's validity. These checks apply across the ordinary customs area and the specified free-trade, special economic and bonded-zone procedures. Surveyor Reports must generally relate to one shipment and one customs declaration and must be supported by the applicable import permit.
Reporting is tied directly to enforcement. An importer that does not submit the required import-realization or distribution report receives an electronic warning. If the failure is not cured within 30 days, the relevant licence or certificate can be frozen and further issuance, amendment, extension or surveyor services for the same commodity can be suspended. Reinstatement follows after the missing report is submitted. These actions run electronically and automatically through INATRADE and SINSW, with a manual process available during an officially recognized system outage.
The Minister may grant a limited exception to the import rules when the flow of imported goods is obstructed and national interest, essential public needs, a government programme or a presidential direction is involved. The exception must be supported by the prescribed coordinating-meeting or presidential task-force decision and uploaded through INATRADE to SINSW; it is not a general importer waiver.
Required action
- Move every new import-licence, amendment and extension file through INATRADE and SINSW, and preserve the submission receipt, completeness status, review correspondence and system-issued decision.
- Check that the licence number, issue and expiry dates, HS code, quantity and unit, destination port and remaining allocation exactly match the manifest, customs declaration and SINSW record before loading and clearance.
- For an Import Approval extension, file early and retain the bill of lading or air waybill and evidence of force majeure, humanitarian circumstances, natural disaster, transport technical problems or another qualifying delay when relying on the automatic-extension route.
- Do not treat an amendment as a new validity period: use only the remaining validity of the original Import Approval or certificate and replan shipments accordingly.
- Ensure the Surveyor Report covers one shipment and one customs declaration and is supported by a valid import permit, unless a specific post-expiry rule applies and the loading, verification and arrival dates are proven by the required transport documents.
- Reconcile import-realization and distribution reports to customs and SINSW data on the schedule required by the underlying licence, monitor electronic warnings daily and cure any reporting failure within 30 days.
- Document any system outage and follow the Directorate General's manual fallback rather than assuming that an unavailable portal suspends the licensing or sanction process.