What Makes Up the Cost of Import Customs Clearance?

The question we hear most often from new importers: “What will it cost in total to get the goods to my warehouse?” The answer falls into three groups that behave very differently: government charges whose amounts are set by regulation, port and shipping-line charges that depend on time, and the fee of the PPJK (licensed customs broker), which you can negotiate. Separating the three makes quotes easy to compare and keeps the final bill free of surprises.

Group 1: Government charges (import duty and import taxes)

These charges are paid to the state treasury through a bank, not to the PPJK. The amounts are determined by the HS code and customs value of the goods, not by who handles the paperwork.

• Customs value. The price of the goods plus freight and insurance to the port of destination (CIF), converted to rupiah at the tax exchange rate set by the Ministry of Finance every week.
• Import Duty (Bea Masuk, BM). A percentage of the customs value according to the HS code. For goods from China with a valid Form E (ACFTA certificate of origin), the ACFTA preferential rate is often lower, and zero for many tariff lines.
• Import VAT (PPN). Calculated on the customs value plus import duty (the import value), at the prevailing VAT rate. For VAT-registered businesses (PKP), this VAT can generally be credited.
• Income Tax Article 22 (PPh 22) on imports. Also calculated on the import value. The rate is lower for importers that hold an API importer licence (through their NIB, the business identification number) than for those that do not, and it counts as a tax credit at year end.
• Additional duties. Certain commodities attract anti-dumping duty, safeguard duty or excise. This is the item most often missed in early estimates.

Before you pay your supplier, send us a description of the goods. We estimate import duty and import taxes based on the HS code, so you can set your selling price correctly from the start.

Group 2: Port and shipping-line charges

These charges are paid to the terminal operator and the shipping line. Some are fixed; others grow every day the container is held.

• Terminal Handling Charge (THC). The cost of discharging the container from the vessel to the container yard. Relatively fixed per container size.
• Shipping-line documentation fees. Issuing the Delivery Order (DO), administration, and sometimes a container deposit that is refunded once the empty container is returned in good condition.
• Storage. The terminal grants a few days of free time. After that a daily tariff applies, usually progressive: the longer the container stays, the more each day costs.
• Demurrage and detention. Demurrage is the shipping line's penalty for a container still in the port beyond free time. Detention is the penalty for returning the empty container late after it has left the port. Both are charged per day per container.
• Physical inspection costs (behandle). These only arise if the container is assigned to the red lane: moving the container to the inspection area, labour for unloading and reloading, and equipment.

The pattern we have seen over many years: importers whose documents are complete before the vessel berths almost never pay storage or demurrage. Importers who hand over documents after the vessel arrives almost always do.

Group 3: PPJK and trucking services

This is the part we invoice, and the part you can compare between service providers. In our written quotes the components are itemised so everything is clear:

• Customs brokerage. Preparing and submitting the PIB (the import declaration), handling the lane assignment, liaising with officers, obtaining the SPPB (the release approval) and the DO.
• Electronic transmission fee (EDI/PDE) per document.
• Trucking from the terminal to your warehouse, per container or per kilogram for regular shipments to East Java, Semarang and Medan.
• Other costs advanced on your behalf (reimbursements) such as THC and DO fees, billed at cost against receipts with no mark-up.

Sample quote structure

The figures below are intentionally left blank because they depend on the goods and the shipping line, but the structure is the same for almost every single 20-foot container shipment:

For exact figures, send us the invoice and packing list through the quote form and we will reply with a written quote signed by our director.