Jakarta. The government’s decision to restrict imports have sparked worries -- this time, the concern is coming from personal shoppers, locally known as jasa titip (jastip).

Cindy is one of the many personal shoppers offering colleagues goods from overseas. Her products range from snacks and perfumes to souvenirs from Malaysia and Turkiye. However, Cindy admitted that she still did not understand the import restrictions that recently entered into force.

“Back then, the government wanted to [restrict imports] because of thrift. [People] would import second-hand goods, and that would take a toll on the small businesses. That made sense,” Cindy said over the weekend.

“But I don’t get the current restrictions. Those who are not personal shoppers even get affected as well. And now people -- who are not even personal shoppers -- get affected. I don’t think the government has done enough to explain the import restriction to the people. And this is why people still don’t get why there is a need to restrict imports,” Cindy said.

Some personal shoppers would bring in goods in large quantities, hence the need to keep the imports under control. Cindy added: “There are personal shoppers who import goods according to the quantity of their baggage. … And there are those with tons of imported goods. Using one’s baggage is still normal, rather than using cargoes, tons of imported goods, and then avoiding customs or taxes, especially for luxury goods.”

According to Cindy, the government needs to reconsider the decision to restrict the imports for those importing in small quantities and non-luxury goods. Despite her products not being of luxury brands, Cindy claimed that she would stick to the procedures.  

"I would report every piece of luggage. … It is of a reasonable amount, and we won’t encounter any problems when the items get checked on X-Ray. But the documents can get complicated. We would not have any problems if we had the necessary documents,” Cindy said.

“But some people are hesitant if they bring large-quantity items because there is a bigger chance that [the authorities] would seize the goods,” she added.

The import restrictions took effect on March 10. Passengers of international flights can only bring a maximum of 2 pairs of footwear and 2 bags. A passenger can only bring 5 pieces of textile products at most, while each person is permitted to carry electronics totaling $1,500, limited to 5 units. Mobile phones, headsets, and tablet computers are capped at 2 units per passenger per year.