🇮🇩 Household goods · customs before freight
Shipping belongings to Indonesia and Bali
Indonesia introduced a new moving-goods framework in June 2025. It gives qualifying Indonesian and foreign residents an import-duty route, but it does not make every charge disappear—and Bali's final island delivery deserves its own written price.
Last verified 12 September 2026
The short answer
Can families ship used household goods to Indonesia, including Bali?
Under PMK 25/2025, qualifying Indonesian and foreign nationals can receive import-duty relief on genuine household moving goods. The goods must come from the importer's former country of residence and arrive with them or within 90 days before or after arrival. Import VAT or income tax may still apply under the relevant tax rules.
Customs relief in plain English
Indonesia's 2025 rules widened the route but kept firm boundaries
Confirm residence or work eligibility, the origin country and arrival date before shipment. Keep import duty, import taxes and private port or delivery charges as separate lines in the budget.
The goods should belong to a person formerly domiciled abroad and be brought as part of the move into Indonesia.
The shipment must be sent or carried from the same country where the importer previously lived.
Goods may arrive with the importer or no more than 90 days before or after their arrival.
Customs states that import VAT and income tax remain payable where the tax rules require them.
Get written confirmation before loading. Customs decides eligibility at import, and another regulator may control particular goods. Ask the destination agent to cite the current rule for the named importer, goods, port and arrival date.
The country-specific checkpoint
Build the move around the 90-day window
The customs clock runs both before and after the importer arrives. Link the shipment booking to the actual travel record, not a hoped-for residence date.
Confirm eligible residence or work
Map the importer's Indonesian status and required supporting documents to PMK 25/2025.
Earliest permitted edge
Avoid early arrival unless the importer, declaration and agent can manage clearance and storage.
Keep the travel evidence
Preserve the arrival record that anchors the customs window and ensure the consignee name matches.
Latest permitted edge
Leave enough margin for loading, sailing changes and document corrections.
Build the clearance file
Make the person, shipment and inventory agree
Exact requirements vary by status and port. Use this as a preparation structure, then replace assumptions with the current list from customs or the licensed destination broker.
Person and move
- Passport and arrival record
- Work, study or residence evidence for the applicable foreign-national route
- Evidence of former domicile and the move from that same country
Customs file
- Electronic PIBK declaration through the government customs system
- Moving certificate in the prescribed format
- Bill of lading or air waybill and itemised inventory
Goods and controls
- Condition, quantity, value, make/model and serial details
- Lartas permits or documents for restricted goods
- Insurance valuation and dated pre-packing photographs
Restricted, regulated or separate
Check the exact item—not only the carton label
This is a risk screen, not an exhaustive prohibited-goods list. Product rules change and often sit with health, agriculture, communications, security or trade authorities rather than customs alone.
| Goods | Likely position | What to do before shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Cars, motorbikes and all vehicle parts | Expressly outside moving-goods relief | Do not load as household goods; use specialist vehicle-import advice or buy locally. |
| Boats, aircraft and parts | Expressly outside moving-goods relief | Keep outside the household shipment. |
| Alcohol, tobacco and other excisable goods | Expressly outside the relief | Exclude or obtain separate written import, quantity and tax advice. |
| Medicine, cosmetics, electronics, textiles, food and plants | May be subject to Indonesia's lartas controls | Check the exact commodity in the Indonesia National Single Window before shipping. |
Sell · store · fly · ship
Give every possession a deliberate route
Judge replacement difficulty, suitability for the likely home and complete landed cost. Sentimental value is valid—but it should be named, not hidden inside a financial calculation.
Sell or donate
Best for: Bulky, low-value or climate-wrong items
Flat-pack furniture, old mattresses, large heaters and items unlikely to fit the next home.
Compare realistic resale value with avoided packing, freight, destination handling and disposal costs.Store
Best for: Meaningful items with a genuine return plan
Archives, heirlooms and furniture intended for a known future home.
Set a review date and compare several years of storage, insurance and eventual collection with the item's value.Fly with you
Best for: The first four to six weeks
Documents, prescribed medicine, school and work kit, chargers, a familiar child item and adaptable clothing.
Keep irreplaceable documents and essential medicine in hand luggage; check airline battery and liquid rules.Ship
Best for: Used possessions that are difficult or costly to replace
Well-used household goods that fit the likely home and can be described and valued clearly.
Load only after the importer, customs route, delivery address and complete destination-charge schedule are confirmed.Choose the shipping method
Buy the route your family needs—not empty container space
Transit times are estimates. Compare collection-to-delivery ranges, all handling stages and what happens if the family or the shipment arrives first.
| Method | Timing pattern | Best for | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra checked baggage | Travels with the family | A compact landing kit | Airline weight, dimensions, batteries, liquids and customs declaration |
| Courier or air freight | Usually faster, but not guaranteed | A small, urgent and clearly documented load | Chargeable weight, customs brokerage and restricted-item rules |
| Shared sea freight | Flexible and consolidation-dependent | A modest volume without a full container | Waiting for consolidation, handling at more stages and minimum charges |
| Full container | Scheduled sailing plus clearance | A genuinely large justified household move | Container size does not make low-value furniture worth shipping; demurrage and access matter |
A useful inventory
Write what is actually in each carton
“Household effects” is not enough for customs, insurance or a damage claim. Number every package and keep one master record that can be sorted by carton, room, item category and control status.
- Plain description, quantity and used or new condition
- Defensible customs value in the required currency and valuation basis
- Make, model and serial number for electronics and valuable equipment
- Permit status for food, medicine, plants, animal products, radios, drones or other controlled goods
- Dated photographs and ownership evidence for higher-value items
- Quantity
- 14 pieces
- Condition
- Used · 4 years
- Value
- Record agreed basis
- Control check
- No food or blades
The landed-cost quote
Price the parts that appear after the headline freight rate
Ask every bidder to mark each line included, excluded, estimated or payable directly. “Door-to-door” is useful only when the contract defines both doors and every handoff between them.
Port and terminal handling
Local handling, documentation, wharfage or terminal charges may sit outside the ocean or air-freight rate.
Which named destination charges are included, estimated or payable directly?Customs and inspection
Brokerage, scanning, unpacking, examination, duties, taxes and permits can be separate even when the quote says door-to-door.
Who pays if customs requests an inspection or revised declaration?Storage and delay
Free time can be short. Port storage, warehouse storage and container demurrage may accrue on different clocks.
How many free days apply, when does each clock start and what is the daily rate?Final delivery
Truck access, lifts, stairs, parking, island legs, unpacking and debris removal should be priced for the real address.
What access assumptions could trigger an extra charge?Delays, inspection and final delivery
Plan for the awkward week, not only the smooth sailing
Bali adds another delivery layer
Ask whether the quote includes the Indonesian entry port, any onward island movement, local handling and delivery to the exact Bali address.
Tax and duty are different lines
A mover saying ‘duty-free’ has not answered whether import VAT, income tax or private charges apply.
Lartas checks belong before loading
The official system is the single reference for current restricted-goods requirements. Product controls can change.
Keep one month of family life outside the shipment
Hold documents, essential medicine, chargers, school and work kit, several climate-appropriate outfits and a few familiar children's items with the family. Keep enough accessible money for temporary replacement, delivery changes or a customs query.
Insurance and mover checks
Ask who is responsible at every handoff
People
Who is the named destination agent, customs broker and carrier? Who answers when a carton, document or delivery slot is missing?
Cover
Is cover all-risk or named-perils? Check valuation, excess, owner-packed goods, mould, pairs and sets, storage, notice deadlines and claim jurisdiction.
Price
Is volume measured or estimated? Which currency, exchange-rate rule, minimum charge, access assumption and surcharge can change the final bill?
Delay
What are the realistic routing range, free storage days, demurrage rates and responsibilities if customs or housing is not ready?
Continue the household plan
Connect the shipment to the home and first month
Bring the research together
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Common questions
Questions about shipping belongings to Indonesia, including Bali
Is it worth shipping furniture to Indonesia or Bali?
Often only when an item is genuinely useful, difficult to replace and likely to fit the next home. Compare its landed, insured cost with a realistic local replacement—not its original purchase price.
Does door-to-door mean every charge is included?
Not necessarily. Ask the mover to identify origin packing, export handling, linehaul, terminal charges, customs clearance, duty and tax, inspection, storage, demurrage, final access, unpacking and insurance as included, excluded, estimated or payable direct.
Should we use air freight or sea freight?
Air freight or extra baggage suits a small arrival layer needed quickly. Sea freight suits a justified larger volume with flexible timing. Compare the complete landed cost and plan for delay rather than relying on a best-case transit time.
Can customs open or inspect a household shipment?
Yes. Customs and other regulators may scan, open, examine, query or hold a shipment. An accurate inventory, matching documents and a budget for inspection and storage reduce—but do not remove—the risk.
How should we insure household goods?
Check whether the policy is all-risk or named-perils, the valuation basis, excess, owner-packed exclusions, mould and humidity treatment, pairs-and-sets rules, claim deadline and evidence needed. Photograph valuable items before packing.
Can the mover decide what is restricted?
Use the mover's operational experience, but verify controlled goods with the destination customs authority or relevant regulator. The named importer remains exposed if an inventory is incomplete or a permit is missing.
What should never go in the main shipment?
Keep passports, original status papers, essential medicine, valuables, irreplaceable records, daily work and school equipment and the family's first-weeks kit with you. Freight can be delayed, damaged or held.
When should we book storage at the destination?
Only after the mover explains port free time, customs timing and warehouse terms. Flexible warehouse storage can be useful while housing is uncertain, but port storage and demurrage are usually expensive ways to wait.