Recently, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of the Republic of Indonesia (DGCE) has taken widespread action against tons of illegal food to protect consumers and the Indonesian food industry. Because the ingredients of food imported illegally are unknown, it can endanger residents and disrupt the distribution of local food producers.
But did you know that Customs and Excise can also deter illegal goods that violate Intellectual Property abroad or within the country?
Because DGCE is part of the Task Force together with the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia Police (Bareskrim Polri), the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM), and the Directorate General of Informatics Applications (Ditjen Aptika), which supports the performance of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) in enforcing Intellectual Property Law in Indonesia. Enforcing this law is a collective homework because Indonesia is still on the list of world countries with serious Intellectual Property violations (along with Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela), as released by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the 2023 Priority Watch List Special 301 Report.
A few weeks ago, DGCE conducted outreach to the public so that the wider community, especially Intellectual Property (IP) owners, could take advantage of this service. So, if illegal products are found crossing state borders, IP owners, especially copyright and trademark owners, will be assisted in the deterrence process. But before that, you must first carry out the recordation process on the DGCE website.
For those of you who are still unfamiliar with the term “deterrence”, this word has 2 (two) meanings, namely:
- Delaying the release, loading, or transportation of excisable goods and/or other goods related to excisable goods;
- Prevent the departure of means of transport.
The Benefits of IP Customs Recordation in DGCE
The recordation process is an activity to enter your IP information into the DGCE customs database, with the following benefits:
- Action at Ports or Borders;
- Especially if the quantity of goods smuggled is very significant.
- Effective and efficient deterring before goods that violate IPR are distributed to the domestic market.
- Protecting IP Owners’ Business Processes;
- Products are protected from counterfeiting or infringement attempts.
- Maintain consumer confidence in products on the market.
- Maintaining brand reputation from low-quality counterfeit products.
- Macro Aspects;
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- Increasing investor confidence, both domestic and foreign.
- The government can restore international trust in the seriousness of eradicating counterfeit products in Indonesia.
The Authority of DGCE
DGCE has two schemes for the enforcement of Intellectual Property Law:
- Judicial Scheme that applies to all IP regimes:
DGCE may impose a temporary suspension until a physical examination. However, DGCE’s position here is passive because it must wait for a temporary suspension order from the Commercial Court, where the Rights owner must carry out the initiative without any prior obligation to record it on the DGCE site. - Ex-Officio Scheme for Trademarks and Copyrights:
After the rights owner carries out the recordation process with the DGCE, the process of deterrence, temporary suspension, and physical examination can be carried out proactively by the DGCE.
Conditions for IP Customs Recordation at DGCE
As the owner or right holder, you must submit a written application accompanied by the required documents by Minister of Finance Regulation (MFR) Number 40/pmk.04/2018 concerning Recording, Deterrence, Guarantee, Temporary Suspension, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Context of Controlling the Import or Export of Suspected Goods Constituting or Originating from the results of Violations of Intellectual Property Rights, to the Director of Action and Investigation at the DGCE Head Office and submitted electronically via the CEISA IPR application which can be accessed on the user portal.
Then you are required to prepare the following documents as attachments:
- Copy of Company Deed of Establishment and Latest Amendments
- Copy of Taxpayer Identification Number (NPWP)
- Copy of Trading Business License (SIUP) or Company Registration Certificate (TDP)
- Copy of Domicile Letter
- Copy of Trademark Certificate/ Registration or Copyright Recordation Letter issued by DGIP
- Information regarding product authenticity characteristics (mark, product appearance, packaging, distribution route, etc.)
- Statement letter as regulated in Appendix B – MFR No. 40/PMK.04/2018
- Proof of transfer of rights (if rights are transferred)
- Information on parties granted the right to import/export
- Other information(s) required by DGCE
Involve Internal or External Examinator
Apart from that, you must appoint one or more examiners who are experts on the product, who can come from within or outside the company, and who understand the Trademark or Copyright of the item to be recorded.
If the goods recorded are related to the Trademark, the appointed Examiner(s) must understand the characteristics of product authenticity, such as the mark, goods, logo, product appearance, packaging, distribution, and marketing routes, as well as the number of products marketed in that area. However, suppose the item being recorded is related to Copyright. In that case, the examiner must understand the characteristics or specifications of the copyrighted work in the fields of science, art, literature, or related rights being created.
DGCE Research Procedure Approximately 30 Days
All requirements will then undergo formal and material research by DGCE, including validating the data with DGIP. If this recordation is approved, it will be valid for 1 (one) year and can be extended.
The entire recordation process is free of charge and only takes approximately 30 days. However, if you are a Trademark Owner or Copyright Holder who is a foreign company and domiciled abroad, you must have a business entity domiciled in Indonesia.
DGCE has successfully disposed of more than one million pens, three million razors, 72 thousand more cosmetics, up to 160 rolls, and 890 cartons of sandpaper in the last four years. This number is not much because not many Trademark Owners and Copyright Holders take advantage of this feature. Therefore, if you own a product with a high cross-border risk, we recommend immediately recording it at DGCE.
If you still have questions or need further information regarding Intellectual Property Customs Recordation at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected].
