December 19, 2025 | 04:06 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government ensures that donations sent by the Indonesian diaspora for disaster management and disaster victim aid are exempt from import duties. The Director General of Customs and Excise at the Ministry of Finance, Djaka Budhi Utama, conveyed this in a press conference for the State Budget Edition of December 2025 in Jakarta on Thursday, 18 December 2025.
Djaka stated that goods entering the customs territory are generally considered imported goods and are subject to import duties. However, for goods used in disaster management, it is possible to provide exemptions from import duties in accordance with applicable provisions.
The government prepares customs facilities to support disaster management. "As regulated in the Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 69 Year 2012," he said, as quoted from Antara.
PMK 69/2012 stipulates the exemption of import duties and/or taxes on imported gift/grant items for the needs of natural disaster management. Article 2 of PMK 69/2012 explains that import duty exemptions are given during the emergency response period, the transition period toward rehabilitation and reconstruction, and the rehabilitation and reconstruction period of a disaster.
To apply for an import duty exemption, the applicant must submit a written application to the Director General via the Customs Office through which the goods were imported. The application must include a list of goods submitted for import duty exemption facilities signed by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), or the governor of the affected area.
The applicant must also attach a statement from the foreign gift/grant giver (gift certificate) and a recommendation from BNPB, BPBD, or the local governor. If the applicant cannot provide a statement from the foreign gift/grant giver (gift certificate), the applicant can attach a statement or declaration of the gift/grant item in the format set out in PMK 69/2012.
"It should be ensured that the provision of facilities is not automatic. There are administrative requirements that need to be fulfilled," said Djaka.
Previously, there were rumors circulating that the Indonesian diaspora was complaining about the policy of providing aid to victims of the disaster in Sumatra. Fika, a diaspora group based in Singapore, mentioned that the Indonesian government would tax aid sent from outside Indonesia.
She shared this on her Instagram account @ffawzia07. "If there is a donation from the diaspora and the Sumatra flood disaster has not been designated as a national disaster, then the aid will be taxed," she wrote in the post, as quoted on Thursday, 11 December 2025.
She explained that aid from the diaspora sent to Sumatra would also be considered as imported goods. According to her, this policy is unreasonable considering the impact of the Sumatra floods, which resulted in nearly a thousand deaths. Data from the National Disaster Management Agency recorded that as of Wednesday, 10 December, the number of Sumatra flood victims reached 969 people.
She stated that the imposition of tax on the delivery of aid to Sumatra flood victims has limited the initiatives of the diaspora. She mentioned that currently, diaspora can only help by donating money to the victims of the Sumatra floods.
Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore, Suryo Pratomo, stated that they cannot facilitate the delivery of aid to Sumatra. According to him, the embassy does not have the authority to urge the central government to designate the Sumatra floods as a national disaster, which would allow aid from abroad to enter.
According to Suryo, they can provide alternatives for the diaspora who want to send aid. "Send monetary donations, which can be sent to the Indonesian Red Cross," Suryo said when contacted on Thursday, 11 December 2025.
Suryo also directed diaspora members who want to help the victims of the Sumatra floods to contact institutions that are accepting aid.
Read: Indonesian Minister Clarifies Why Disaster Donation Permits Are Required
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