DGCE: Obligations in Conducting a Personal Shopper Business 

“Personal shoppers must complete the Special Import Declaration form and declare all of their goods in this form, fulfil import requirements and fulfil import duty and taxes on imports payment obligations,” he remarked, Saturday (18/2/2023).

Nirwala claimed that in principle, under customs provisions, the term personal shopper is not known. Goods brought by personal shoppers are included in inbound luggage, the provisions of which are stipulated under MoF Reg. 203/2017.

Article 7 of MoF Reg. 203/2017 categorises passenger goods into 2, namely personal use and non-personal-use goods. Exemptions from import duty and taxes on imports are granted for personal use goods with a maximum free on board (FOB) customs value of US$500 per person for each arrival.

In contrast, non-personal-use goods are not eligible for exemptions from import duty and taxes on imports.

Nirwala stated that goods brought by personal shoppers are included in the category of non-personal-use goods because, in terms of quantity, type and nature, they are not for personal use. Because the goods are classified as non-personal-use goods, goods brought by personal shoppers will not receive an exemption from import duty and taxes on imports.

These non-personal-use goods are subject to import duties according to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN), the amount of which can be checked on the https://insw.go.id/intr webpage and are not deducted by US$500 or the total customs value. Next, these goods are also subject to 11% VAT and Income Tax.

The Income Tax rate of 7.5% or 10% according to the type of goods applies if the personal shopper has a Taxpayer Identification Number, whereas a rate of 15% or 20% according to the type of goods is imposed if there is no Taxpayer Identification Number.

In the last few days, netizens on Twitter have been fuzzing about the import of goods through personal shoppers. Some netizens also discussed the customs provisions on imports of goods brought by personal shoppers. (sap)