Regulation Watch · Tax Compliance · Indonesia, for exports of gold products covered by the gold export-duty regime, including exports by eligible PT PMA and PT PMDN mining, refining, manufacturing, trading, jewellery and bullion businesses.
Gold Export Benchmark Falls 3.5% Through 14 October
Kepmendag 1925/2026 lowers Indonesia's gold export benchmark to USD 139,409.07 per kilogram and its reference price to USD 4,336.11 per troy ounce for exports from 1 through 14 October 2026.
- Published
- Established and published by the Ministry of Trade on 30 September 2026. The Ministry's official materials identify no separate State Gazette promulgation date for this ministerial decision.
- Effective
- 1 October 2026 for gold exports made from 1 through 14 October 2026.
- Added to Watch
- 4 October 2026
Who is affected
Indonesian exporters of covered gold products; mining, refining, manufacturing, jewellery, bullion and trading companies, including PT PMA businesses; foreign and domestic shareholders; directors; customs brokers; and finance, tax, treasury, trade-compliance, logistics and sales teams responsible for export declarations, shipment pricing and margin control.
Practical impact
For the first half of October, the HPE for gold falls 3.5% from USD 144,469.49 to USD 139,409.07 per kilogram and the reference price falls from USD 4,493.51 to USD 4,336.11 per troy ounce. The HPE is the customs value used to calculate export duty on covered gold products, while the applicable duty rate continues to depend on the product and processing category under PMK 80/2025. Exporters must therefore update shipment costing and customs instructions for the correct 1–14 October period rather than reusing the second-half September benchmark.
The Ministry of Trade established and published Kepmendag 1925/2026 on 30 September for gold exports during the first half of October. The decision sets the Harga Patokan Ekspor, or HPE, at USD 139,409.07 per kilogram and the Harga Referensi at USD 4,336.11 per troy ounce for 1 through 14 October 2026. The Ministry's official materials identify no separate State Gazette promulgation date.
Both values are 3.5% below the second-half September levels of USD 144,469.49 per kilogram and USD 4,493.51 per troy ounce. The Ministry attributes the change to global market dynamics, including stronger major currencies and higher international bond yields, using technical gold-price data from the London Bullion Market Association supplied through the relevant ministries.
The change is operational rather than informational. Under PMK 80/2025, covered gold exports are subject to export duty according to the product and its processing category, and the period-specific HPE is used in the customs calculation. A shipment team should not apply one headline percentage across every form of gold or carry forward the prior period's HPE.
Exporters should review each shipment's export date, product description, HS code, processing category, weight and applicable duty rate, then update the customs broker instruction, PEB data, payment, invoice, costing and margin analysis. Where a contract was priced before the new benchmark, the exporter should also confirm how export-duty and price changes are allocated under the agreed Incoterms and tax clauses.
The decision lasts only through 14 October. A covered shipment exported from 15 October must use the replacement benchmark and the corresponding customs price instrument rather than this temporary value. Finance and compliance teams should therefore calendar the mid-month reset and keep the official decision, tariff basis, calculations, payment evidence and shipment documents together for audit and reconciliation.
Required action
- Identify every covered gold shipment exported from 1 through 14 October 2026 and confirm the exact product description, HS code, processing category, export date and quantity before filing the export declaration.
- Replace the second-half September HPE with USD 139,409.07 per kilogram and use the October reference price of USD 4,336.11 per troy ounce when applying the duty schedule under PMK 80/2025.
- Recalculate export duty, selling price, treasury funding and shipment margin, and align the values used by the exporter, customs broker, freight provider and overseas buyer.
- Review contracts and Incoterms for responsibility for export duty, price adjustments and customs delay, especially where a quotation or purchase order was prepared using the prior benchmark.
- Retain Kepmendag 1925/2026, the applicable PMK 80/2025 tariff line, calculation workpaper, export declaration, payment evidence, invoice and shipping documents in one audit file.
- Monitor the Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Finance for the replacement benchmark and customs price instrument for exports from 15 October onward.