New regulations on chemical imports enacted by Indonesia

 The “Regulation of the Minister of Industry No. 13 of 2021 on the Recommendation of the Importation of Hazardous substances” came into force in Indonesia on 13th of July 2021.  

The regulation concerns two categories of importers of hazardous substances; 1) “manufacturers and importers” (API-P) and 2) “general importers” (API-U). In the case of “Manufacturers and importers”, these types of importers have no right to further distribute hazardous substances on the Indonesian market. In the case of “General Importers” group, only state-owned companies will be granted the recommendation letter to import hazardous chemicals and distribute them on the Indonesian market. However, if one of the “General importers'” buyers does not comply with the regulations, the buyer will be banned from purchasing hazardous chemicals. 

According to the new regulation, the API-P type of importers of hazardous substances must get a recommendation letter from the Ministry of Industry. To obtain the letter, the importer must first verify itself through a third-party organization and then submit its application to the Ministry of Industry through the “State Industrial Information System (SIINas)”.  After the recommendation letter is obtained, the importer must submit an import result at least once a month to the Director General in charge through SIINas. 

The documents required for verification are as follows (for API-P only):  

• Company Registration Number (NIB) 

• Industrial business license or expansion business license Import plan 

• Hazardous substances inventory list owned by the company 

• List of types and quantities of major equipment used and production process flow 

• List of workers 

• Safety data sheets (SDS) for hazardous substances 

• Production capacity and types of products to be produced 

• Production performance reports for the last 3years 

• Hazardous substances utilization report for the last 3 years 

• Production plan and hazardous substances requirements for one year of production. 

After the verification by a third party, the company is supposed to apply for the recommendation letter through SIINas: https://siinas.kemenperin.go.id/.  The application must include reports on the verification results. Furthermore, the importer should provide:; 

• Identification information of the company 

• The business license of the company 

• The CAS number of the hazardous substances to be imported 

• The HS tariff number/item of the hazardous substances to be imported 

• Intended use of hazardous substance 

• Recommended import quantity 

• Country of origin, country of loading 

• Port of destination 

• The recommendation letter's validity period 

Definition:  

According to the regulation, the definition of hazardous substances is the following: Hazardous substances are components, chemicals, and biological materials in the form of single substances or mixtures that are toxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic, corrosive, and irritant that may pose a risk to health and the environment, directly or indirectly.