For foreign trade personnel who have previously exported to Indonesia, the term “customs clearance red light period” may sound familiar and unsettling. This year, the situation is especially severe. Indonesia has destroyed illegal imported goods multiple times throughout the year, covering various fields such as clothing, textiles, electronics, ceramics, and more.

In Indonesia, customs are divided into red light and green light customs. The red light period is actually a policy implemented by Indonesia to protect local businesses. When a certain export product is categorized as red light, Indonesian customs will conduct strict inspections of the goods from the exporting company to protect the interests of domestic companies in the same sector. In such cases, it is not uncommon for goods to be detained at customs for months.

The red light period usually occurs from December to March of the following year. During this period, Indonesian customs, together with other law enforcement agencies, will conduct more rigorous inspections of import clearance. Compared to usual times, customs procedures will be more complicated, and the required time will be longer. If not handled properly, it may result in additional costs. Particularly for companies holding red licenses, their goods are almost certain to be inspected.

This year, the situation is especially severe. Indonesia has destroyed illegal imported goods multiple times throughout the year, covering areas like clothing, textiles, electronic products, ceramics, etc. This is mainly because Indonesia found significant discrepancies between the BPS data of imported textiles, clothing accessories, ceramics, electronics, cosmetics, footwear, and other textile products, and the data from their countries of origin. The recorded value from the country of origin was as high as $360 million, while Indonesia’s records were only $116 million.

According to industry insiders, all of Indonesia’s ports are currently in a “red light” status, and various docks and warehouses are undergoing unprecedented strict inspections.