While having won the approval of some, Indonesia’s new halal certification system is viewed as too onerous by many importers and exporters.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing to revise its regulations regarding a certification of admissibility form that allows entry of certain fish or fish products otherwise subject to certain trade restrictions.

The General Administration of Customs recently announced its decision to revise and scrap a number of documents relating to the management of inbound items, with effect from 1 December. Adjustments have been made with regard to the management of inbound and outbound personal postal items, customs declarations for inbound and outbound passengers, and duties on vapes. Previous announcements and notices concerning the release of personal baggage carried by inbound and outbound passengers and the amount of duty-free tobacco and cigarettes that passengers can bring into the country have been scrapped.

On 25 October, the State Council issued a circular calling for efforts to replicate and promote experimental measures to align with international economic and trade rules and standards, and to steadily expand institutional opening-up. In pilot free trade zones, measures to be promoted include permitting foreign financial institutions to offer new financial services, and allowing enterprises and individuals to purchase offshore financial services. Measures that will be promoted nationwide include free inward and outward remittance of all relevant transfers of funds by foreign investors.