Customs Rules for Indonesia and Bali: What You Can and Can't Import and Export

Import and Export of Currency: How Much Without Declaration

Import and export of cash foreign currency to Indonesia is unlimited, i.e. you can bring as much "cash" with you as you want.

However, amounts above 100 million Indonesian rupiah in any currency are subject to mandatory declaration, that's about 5571 US dollars or 4959 euros. You need to state the amount right in the All Indonesia electronic form (E-CD) when filling out the declaration. And different currencies are counted together: for example, if you're bringing 4,000 US dollars and 3,000 euros, in total that's more than 100 million rupiah, which means you need to declare it. The declaration itself doesn't obligate you to anything and carries no expenses or liability, but if you don't do it, there can be serious problems up to confiscation of money and punishment.

Alcohol, Cigarettes and Tobacco: Limits per Adult

• 200 cigarettes or 25 cigars, or 100 g of smoking tobacco.
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages per adult over 21 years old.

These limits count all alcohol and cigarettes you bring from home in your luggage, or bought at a duty-free shop at the departure airport or already on arrival and carry in hand luggage – all of this is summed up. If you took 1 liter per person from home and bought another 1 liter at the airport, that's already a violation.

Restrictions on alcohol and cigarettes are counted per person, not per luggage. So if you're flying as a couple, you can take not 1 liter, but 2 liters (one per person).

E-Cigarettes, Vapes and IQOS: What's Allowed to Import

Yes, it's allowed, there's no ban on import and sale here yet. However, there are restrictions:

• For IQOS and similar systems – 140 sticks or 40 capsules.
• Liquids for open systems – 30 ml.
• Liquids for closed systems – 12 ml.

Important! E-cigarettes with a built-in battery or batteries are prohibited from being carried in luggage, all of this needs to be packed in hand luggage.

Personal Items, Gifts and Duties: What to Declare

Strictly according to the rules, in addition to alcohol and cigarettes within the limits above, Indonesia and Bali also allow importing personal items, souvenirs, gifts worth up to 500 US dollars. Everything above this amount is subject to a 10% duty. But in practice this requirement is almost never enforced due to the impossibility of calculating the value, unless you're bringing a bunch of identical goods in factory packaging and boxes, which can be regarded as goods for sale.

All Indonesia and BC2.2 Customs Declaration: Briefly About the Main Thing

All tourists arriving in Indonesia fill out the All Indonesia electronic arrival form (E-CD), which has the BC2.2 customs declaration built into it. It's filled out online before arrival, and at the exit you get a QR code, which you present at customs. We've put the detailed breakdown of the fields, typical mistakes and a sample in a separate article – how to fill out All Indonesia (E-CD). If you're flying by the old scheme, the separate BC2.2 declaration is still available at ecd.beacukai.go.id.

What's Prohibited to Import into Indonesia

• Weapons (without special permission).
• Drugs.
• Explosives.
• Flora and fauna from the CITES list.
• Pornographic materials.
• Materials promoting communism, Marxism-Leninism and atheism. This is a historical clause remaining in the code from Suharto's time, and it applies primarily to printed materials and symbols, not to the personal beliefs of tourists.
• Cordless phones (for home use, not cell phones).
• Meat and meat products without a veterinary certificate from the country of origin – a sanitary ban is in effect.
• Medicines not registered in Indonesia, and preparations containing narcotic or psychotropic substances without special permission.

Worth mentioning medicines separately, because this is one of the most frequent causes of questions at customs. The list of preparations prohibited for import into Indonesia is quite extensive, and it includes not only obvious drugs but also some medicines we're used to. Under prohibition or strict control:

• Preparations containing morphine, codeine in high doses, amphetamines, methamphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and other psychotropic substances.
• Potent sleeping pills and painkillers available by prescription.
• Medications for treating ADHD (e.g., Adderall, Ritalin), some antidepressants.
• Cannabis and any products containing it – completely prohibited, including CBD.
• Traditional preparations containing components from protected animals and plants (e.g., parts of rare animals used in folk medicine).

Prescription medications for personal use can usually be imported, but they should be declared, kept in the original packaging and have a prescription or doctor's note with an English translation with you. A supply for up to 60 days is standardly allowed. If you're unsure about a specific medication – it's better to check in advance on the customs website or with BPOM than to risk confiscation at the border. But if the medication is on the prohibited list – a prescription won't help, it'll still be confiscated. In that case discuss with your doctor a replacement with an allowed analogue in advance, before the trip.

Traditional Chinese medicines – pills, capsules, powders, liquids and other ready forms – are also prohibited. The reason is that they're not registered with the Indonesian agency BPOM. Without original factory packaging, English labeling and a doctor's prescription, they'll almost certainly be confiscated at customs. If you vitally need some medication, bring it in factory packaging with a clear description in English and a doctor's note.

And here are special categories of items with restrictions that are also important to know about:

• Printed publications in Chinese – books, magazines, brochures, newspapers – are prohibited from import. The ban has been in effect since the 1970s and formally remains to this day. Import for scientific or educational purposes requires special permission. This doesn't apply to e-books and gadgets – only paper publications.

• Drones. You can import drones into Indonesia, but there are conditions. If the drone weighs more than 250 grams, it needs to be registered with the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority (DGCA), and foreign tourists need to get a temporary flight permit. Flights are prohibited near airports, military facilities and the presidential palace, and in Bali additional restrictions apply – especially in the area of temples. For violating flight rules fines from 1 to 100 million rupiah are provided. If you're bringing a drone, it's better to check the current rules on the DGCA website in advance and register the device before the trip.

• Smartphones, tablets and other devices with a SIM card. If you're bringing a phone, tablet or pocket computer with a cellular module, to use a local SIM card in Indonesia the device needs to be registered in the IMEI system. But there are exceptions:

  • If you don't plan to insert a local SIM card, you don't need to register
  • If you're staying less than 90 days, full registration at customs isn't required
  • Regular laptops without a SIM card slot don't need to be registered

  Registration can be done right at the arrival airport before leaving the terminal – in this case a duty-free limit of up to $500 per device applies. If you forgot to do this and have already left the airport, registration is possible at the nearest customs office within 60 days, but no longer with the right to the duty-free limit. A maximum of two HKT devices per person can be registered.

What's Prohibited to Export from Indonesia and Bali

Here the situation is even stricter than on import, and it concerns primarily natural souvenirs that tourists like to take home from Bali as a memento.

Corals, shells and sea souvenirs. Corals – both live and dead, and even items made from them – fall under the CITES convention and are prohibited from export without special permission. Shells of protected mollusk species are also prohibited from export. Small ordinary shells in small quantities for a personal souvenir usually don't raise questions, but large, rare and beautiful specimens are easily confiscated at customs. If in doubt – it's better not to take such souvenirs, Bali has plenty of other options for gifts.

Sand from beaches. Exporting sand from Bali's beaches is officially prohibited. This isn't a formality – there have been real cases when tourists were stopped on departure because of a jar of sand in their luggage, and it ended with serious fines and even legal proceedings. Don't take sand "as a memento" and don't pour it into bottles with shells.

Fruits, plants and products. Fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds and live plants require a phytosanitary certificate, which an ordinary tourist doesn't have. Formally, exporting them without documents is prohibited, and they may be confiscated on departure. Coffee, spices, tea, dried herbs and other products in factory packaging can usually be exported. As for rare plants, orchids and seedlings – they fall under CITES and require permission.

Wooden items and antiques. Balinese wood carving is a popular souvenir, and most ordinary items made from common wood species can be exported freely. The ban concerns items made from protected wood species, antique items and items of historical and artistic value without special permission. If a souvenir looks like an antique – ask the seller for an export document.

Animals, plants and items made from them from the CITES list. This concerns items made from the skin and bones of rare animals, turtle shells, ivory items and similar things. The full list can be viewed on the CITES convention website.

If you're already at the airport and suddenly found a shell or a bag of sand in your bag that you accidentally took from the beach – just throw them in the trash before going through customs control. Don't try to carry them through the counter or leave them in your luggage: customs comes before the aviation security check, and that's where such things are checked.

And an important note: Indonesia's restrictions don't depend on whether you're flying to Russia or another country. But you should additionally check the import rules of your country too – what's freely exported from Indonesia may be prohibited to import at home. We cover Russia's customs rules for tourists in a separate article.

How Customs Control Works at Bali Airport

As everywhere, customs inspection is selective. You may be let through customs without any inspection at all, they'll just check that the QR code is filled out, and that's it. Or they may send you for a selective inspection, and then your luggage and hand luggage will be passed through a scanner (X-ray), and if something seems suspicious, they may conduct an additional manual inspection. But what the probability of this is – it's impossible to predict.

What Happens If You Break Customs Rules

The consequences depend on the severity of the violation. If you didn't declare a currency amount over 100 million rupiah, the fine will be 10% of that amount, but no more than 300 million rupiah. Moreover, the fine can be deducted right from the money being carried on the spot. For exceeding the alcohol limit, the excess is confiscated and destroyed without the right to pay a duty. For carrying drugs, weapons or smuggling protected animals and plants, the punishment can be far more serious – up to criminal liability with long sentences. That's why we advise not trying to "sneak through" with a dubious souvenir: the risk of losing money and time because of a jar of sand or an extra bottle of alcohol simply isn't justified.

If you still have a specific question about Indonesia's customs rules that we haven't covered – check the official customs website beacukai.go.id or the electronic declaration portal ecd.beacukai.go.id. Current rules and updates on import and export are published there.