Indonesia Pushes Systemic Reform of Customs Agency Amid Dissolution Threat

The Indonesian government has eased the immediate threat of dissolving the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) after recent performance improvements, but officials warn that reforms must not stop midway. Iskandar Sitorus, secretary of Indonesian Audit Watch, stresses that without systemic changes the customs crisis could re‑emerge in a new form.

President Prabowo Subianto has granted DJBC a “second breath” to restructure, while Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has asked the president for additional time to implement reforms. The administration is considering options ranging from rotating senior staff to reverting to an older, surveyor‑based inspection model used in the New Order era. Sitorus highlights that the core issue lies in the agency’s institutional design, which concentrates many strategic functions in a single organization.

DJBC’s remit includes tariff collection, trade facilitation, cargo monitoring, patrols, audits, enforcement and investigations. Reform proposals, developed with input from digital‑governance expert Prof. Taufiqurrakhman and legal scholar Dinalara Dermawati Butarbutar, aim to overhaul data access, risk profiling, inspection selection and decision‑making transparency to prevent future crises.