Indonesia’s Exports

Indonesia’s economy has significant points of difference with Asian neighbours like Singapore and Thailand. In particular, Indonesia’s economy is largely driven by domestic activity rather than exports, which helped to cushion it from the global crisis of 2008-09. Indonesia has a market-based economy in which the government plays a significant role, including administering prices for some basic goods such as fuel, rice and electricity.

Indonesia’s main trading partners are other Asian countries – Japan, China, Singapore and South Korea. The United States is also a significant export market. Indonesia’s most important export commodities are oil and gas, minerals, crude palm oil, electrical appliances and rubber products. However Indonesia exports of goods and services, as a proportion of GDP, is relatively low at 20%.

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Indonesia is a growing market for Australian exports of goods and services, with promising prospects looking forward. Australian merchandise exports to Indonesia exceeded $5.5 billion in 2015-16, with key exports across primary agricultural products (including wheat, live animals, horticultural products and sugar) accounting for almost 40 per cent of the all merchandise exports, followed by resources and energy (20 per cent) and services (20 per cent).

Australian manufactured exports to Indonesia also represent a growing, though still relatively small segment. Our manufactured exports to Indonesia range across dozens of categories, from pharmaceutical products ($34.4 million in 2014) to electric and electronic equipment ($37.3 million).

Australian businesses exporting goods to Indonesia should be aware of the various import duties and taxes that may apply, and other import regulations with which they must comply. The terms tariff and duty are often used interchangeably and refer to the applicable taxes. However, a tariff is a tax applied on imports only, whereas duty is taxes that also apply to domestic products. For Australians exporting to Indonesia, tariffs and duties
are calculated on the complete shipping value, which includes the cost of the goods, the cost of freight and the cost of insurance.

Other export opportunities: Austrade has highlighted Australia’s strong comparative advantages in areas including supply chain management, workplace health and safety, environmental responsibility and technical expertise

Value Added Tax (VAT) and Luxury Goods Sales Tax (LST)

Value Added Tax (VAT) is generally applicable at a rate of 10 per cent on the deliveries of goods and services within the Indonesian Customs Area. This may be increased or decreased to 15 per cent or five per cent according to government regulations.

Other categories of goods and services are treated as follows:

  • Goods exported from Indonesia are subject to zero- related VAT, but imported goods are subject to the full 10 per cent rate, with some exceptions
  • Some exported services qualify for zero-rated VAT, including toll manufacturing, repair and maintenance and construction services
  • Inbound use or consumption of foreign services or intangible goods, with few exceptions, is also subject to VAT at 10 per cent. 

Want to learn more? Explore our other Indonesia information categories or download the Indonesia Country Starter Pack.