On 17 March 2026, Indonesia’s Minister of Trade issued Permendag No. 5 of 2026*, which came into effect on 1 April 2026. This regulation aims to improve the ease of doing business for exporters and to simplify export business licensing.
While much of the regulation focuses on procedural updates to export licensing and sanctions mechanisms, one of its most commercially significant additions is a specific exemption from Indonesia’s export policy and regulatory requirements for certain re-export activities. For businesses involved in re-export transactions, particularly those concerning goods still within the customs area, goods placed in a Tempat Penimbunan Berikat (Bonded Storage Facility), or Barang Impor Sementara (Temporarily Imported Goods), this change may meaningfully reduce compliance burdens and help streamline cross-border operations.
Permendag No. 5 of 2026 now introduces a clear exemption specifically governing re-export activities: Indonesia’s export policy and regulatory requirements will not apply to the re-export of previously imported goods in three specific situations. The first covers imported goods that are re-exported while they remain within the customs area or in another location treated in the same manner as a Tempat Penimbunan Sementara (Temporary Storage Facility). The second covers imported goods that have been placed in a Tempat Penimbunan Berikat (Bonded Storage Facility) and are re-exported in their original condition, without having undergone any processing, and in quantities no greater than those recorded in the original import documentation. The third covers the re-export of Barang Impor Sementara (Temporarily Imported Goods). In all three cases, the re-export transaction remains subject to applicable customs regulations, even though Indonesia’s export policy and regulatory requirements do not apply.
The introduction of this exemption sits within a broader trajectory of regulatory reform aimed at improving the ease of doing business in Indonesia’s trade sector. Taken alongside the digitalization of export sanctions and the streamlining of licensing procedures also introduced by Permendag No. 5 of 2026, the re-export exemption reflects a growing recognition by the Government that not all outbound movements of goods carry the same policy implications as conventional exports. Therefore, businesses should ensure that any re-export transactions they seek to bring within the exemption genuinely meet the applicable conditions.
Regulatory reference:
*Minister of Trade Regulation No. 5 of 2026 on the Fourth Amendment to Minister of Trade Regulation No. 23 of 2023 on Export Policy and Regulation