Nation's New Foreign Exchange Policy Takes Effect! Purchase Quota Halved Starting April 1, Customs Cracks Down on Under-Declared Imports

Indonesia’s foreign exchange and import regulations are undergoing major adjustments. Starting from April 1, 2026, the Bank of Indonesia will officially implement a stricter foreign exchange transaction reporting policy, aiming to stabilize the continuously weakening Indonesian rupiah exchange rate and strengthen the supervision of export foreign exchange and import payment foreign exchange.

According to the new regulations, the monthly foreign exchange purchase limit for individuals and institutions without providing proof of transactions has been reduced from US0,000 to US,000. For foreign exchange purchases exceeding this amount, real trade documents such as contracts and invoices must be submitted. This move is intended to improve the transparency of foreign exchange transactions and ensure that foreign exchange declarations are more rigorous, accurate and timely.

The current exchange rate of the Indonesian rupiah is at a historically low level. The Indonesian rupiah has fallen to the key mark of 17,000 rupiah against the US dollar, surpassing the previous low of 16,957 rupiah in April last year, recording its worst performance since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. After depreciating 3.5% throughout 2025, the Indonesian rupiah has become one of the worst-performing emerging market currencies in Asia in 2026.

The impact of exchange rate depreciation on Indonesian people and businesses has been fully demonstrated. Since Indonesia is highly dependent on imports of food, manufactured goods, etc., prices of imported goods have generally risen by 30% to 45%, severely weakening household purchasing power. A local import agency in Indonesia that deals in German, Korean and Chinese auto parts said that its import volume has dropped by 15% to 20% since the beginning of the year, and its profits have shrunk simultaneously. The company had to cut expenses and postpone all expansion plans.

In the face of the new foreign exchange policy, industry insiders suggest that relevant companies take three countermeasures: first, complete large-amount rigid purchases of foreign exchange before April 1; second, strengthen compliance management to ensure the integrity of all large-amount foreign exchange purchase certificates; third, shift to local currency settlement, use the upgraded LCT framework of China and Indonesia, and directly use RMB for Indonesian rupiah settlement to avoid fluctuations in the U.S. dollar exchange rate and save costs.

At the same time, Indonesian Customs is simultaneously increasing its efforts to crack down on underreporting of imports to prevent the loss of national tax revenue. The Indonesian Finance Minister revealed that among the 10 import companies randomly inspected, the declared prices were lower than the actual transaction prices, which was a serious problem. The relevant tax losses will be announced after verification.

At the end of last year, the Indonesian Finance Minister publicly promised to implement comprehensive reforms to the General Administration of Customs and Excise. If it fails to improve its poor image and performance within one year, it will face the risk of being taken over by Swiss SGS. The reform focuses on two major areas: under-reporting of export invoices and smuggling of illegal items into the country.

For companies that trade with Indonesia, the severity of the local customs clearance “red light period” is well known. At this stage, customs requires physical inspection, and the inspection rate is extremely high. The goods of export companies holding red license plates will almost certainly be inspected. Textiles, clothing, electronic products, cosmetics, ceramic products, children's toys, etc. are classified as "high-risk" categories, and the customs focuses on verifying whether the goods have valid SNI certification, import quotas, import licenses and other compliance documents. Even goods that are truthfully declared may be deemed to be underdeclared for tax avoidance or illegal smuggling.

Companies exporting to Indonesia recently must pay close attention to compliance issues. Under-reporting prices, incorrectly assigning HS codes, and incomplete documents may lead to the seizure of goods.

sunny worldwide logistics Co., Ltd. - Three Core Competencies:

Exclusive foreign trade warehouse at Yantian Port—one of only three among 60,000+ logistics peers in Shenzhen.

Own container fleet, available on-call—among the best in Shenzhen's industry.

1,800 sqm of premium Grade-A office space in Longgang—a testament to exceptional strength.

sunny worldwide logistics—Top 3 in Shenzhen Logistics.

When it comes to logistics, choose sunny worldwide logistics—your gateway to the world.

About sunny worldwide logistics

Established in 1998, Swwlogistics is an international freight forwarding enterprise headquartered in Shenzhen, with 1,800 sqm of self-owned Grade-A office space. Our mission: "Ssunny worldwide logistics Freight—No Surprises Unless Acts of God." With 27 years in freight forwarding, there's no pitfall we haven't seen.

Services:

Sea freight

Land transport

Air freight

Rail freight

Customs clearance

Warehousing

Inspection declaration

Container trucking

Fumigation

Insurance

One-stop integrated logistics solutions.

sunny worldwide logistics—More committed than the cargo owner themselves.

Contact Us:

QQ: 2885374591

Tel: 0755-25643421

WhatsApp/WeChat: 19076129125 (Lily)

Websites:

Official: swwlogistics.com

Rate Inquiry: swwlsrates.com

Mexico Site: swwshippingforwarder.com

Address: 8/F, Block B, Rongde International, Henggang, Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

Email: sales36@swwlogistics.com.cn