Importer of record services in Indonesia
Bringing goods into Indonesia requires a local entity to take legal responsibility for the shipment at the border — the importer of record. PT. Singa Biru Grup acts as importer of record for your BPOM-registered products, so your first shipment does not have to wait on a distribution agreement, and your import activity is not captive to whichever partner happens to hold that role today.
Many brands assume they need a distributor lined up before a single unit can enter the country. That is not strictly true. Import and distribution are two separate functions: one gets your product across the border and into a bonded or licensed warehouse, the other gets it onto shelves or into an online cart. Separating them gives you room to test the market, fulfil e-commerce orders directly, or bridge a gap between distributors without stalling.
Why act before — or independent of — a distributor
Waiting for a signed distribution agreement before importing means your market-entry timeline is set by someone else's procurement cycle. Brands that want to validate demand, run a pilot batch, or start selling through their own e-commerce channels first need a way to get product into Indonesia on their own schedule. Acting as importer of record independently of any single distributor also protects you during a transition: if you are switching distributors, product can keep moving into the country while the new commercial relationship is finalized, instead of sitting in a warehouse abroad.
This mirrors the logic behind license holding. Just as a distributor holding your BPOM registration can trap you into a relationship you cannot easily leave, a distributor acting as your sole importer of record can gate every shipment on their willingness to clear it. Keeping import authority separate — with a neutral party like PT. Singa Biru Grup — means your ability to bring product into the country does not depend on the health of one commercial relationship.
How importer of record pairs with license holding
Customs officials check a shipment against its BPOM registration before releasing it, so the entity that holds your license and the entity that clears your shipments need to be working from the same information. When PT. Singa Biru Grup holds both roles for a brand, your registration status and your import documentation are managed by one organization instead of coordinated across two, which removes a common source of customs delays: a shipment that does not match what is on file with BPOM.
You do not have to use both services together — importer of record works as a standalone engagement if your license is already held elsewhere — but brands that combine the two get a single point of contact for both the regulatory and the logistics side of getting a product to market.
Customs duties and taxes
Import duty, value-added tax, and any applicable luxury tax are determined by the HS code assigned to your product, its declared customs value, and its country of origin. Rates vary by product category and change with government policy, so we do not quote a flat percentage here — we calculate the applicable duties and taxes for your specific shipment before you commit, based on its actual classification.
Who typically needs this
- Brands testing the Indonesian market — before signing an exclusive distribution deal, get product in-country to validate demand.
- E-commerce sellers — fulfilling orders directly needs product physically in Indonesia, independent of a retail distributor.
- Brands switching distributors — keep shipments moving through a transition instead of pausing imports until a new agreement is signed.
Pricing
Quoted per shipment profile — talk to us
Import duties and taxes vary by HS code, so importer-of-record pricing is quoted per shipment once we know your product classification. If you also need us to hold your product license, that is $5,000 / year per brand, with registration from $350 per SKU + official BPOM fee.
Frequently asked questions
What does an importer of record actually do?
The importer of record is the legal entity that takes responsibility for a shipment when it enters Indonesia — declaring the goods to customs, paying applicable duties and taxes, and confirming the shipment matches its BPOM registration. As with BPOM licenses, this must be an Indonesian legal entity; a foreign brand cannot clear its own shipments without one.
Can I use an importer of record before I have a distributor?
Yes. That is one of the main reasons brands use this service. You can bring product into Indonesia, hold it in-market, and start testing demand or fulfilling e-commerce orders while you evaluate distributors, instead of waiting for a distribution agreement before your first shipment lands.
How does importer of record relate to license holding?
They are separate but complementary. License holding covers the BPOM registration that makes a product legal to sell in Indonesia; importer of record covers physically bringing that registered product across the border. When PT. Singa Biru Grup holds both roles for your brand, your registration and your customs clearance are handled by the same entity, so there is no mismatch between what is registered and what is imported.
What do customs duties and taxes cost?
Import duty, VAT, and any applicable luxury tax depend on the HS code assigned to your product, its declared value, and its country of origin, so we cannot quote a flat rate here. We calculate the applicable duties and taxes for your specific product and shipment before you commit, and we do not invent figures in advance of that review.
Do I still need a distributor if you act as importer of record?
Eventually, for most brands, yes — distributors bring warehousing, retail relationships, and last-mile logistics that are hard to replace at scale. But acting as importer of record lets you decouple the timing: you can import and hold registration independently of any single distributor, and add distribution partners on your own schedule rather than being forced to lock one in before your first shipment.
Who typically needs this service?
Brands testing the Indonesian market before committing to a distributor, e-commerce sellers who fulfil orders directly rather than through a retail partner, and brands mid-transition between distributors who need to keep product moving without a gap in coverage.