What imported goods/services are required to use instructions in Bahasa Indonesia?
Are imported products like flashlights, batteries, and other similar products are required to include user manuals in Bahasa Indonesia?
DAFTAR ISI
INTISARI JAWABAN
Basically, Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protectionprohibits business actors from producing and/or trading goods and/or services that do not include information and/or instructions for the use of goods in Indonesian language/Bahasa Indonesia in accordance with the provisions of the applicable laws.
This obligation is further regulated more specifically for producers and importers of electronic and telematics products to complete their products with user manuals and guarantee cards in Bahasa Indonesia prior to trading in the domestic markets which have been affixed with registration numbers.
Are products such as batteries and flashlights required to include instructions for use/user manuals in Bahasa Indonesia?
Please read the review below for a further explanation.
This article below is an update of the article with the same title, which was written by Made Wahyu Arthaluhur, S.H., and was first published on 22 May 2018.
All legal informations which are available through Klinik hukumonline.com have been prepared for educational purposes only and are general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.
In order to simplify the answer, since you are asking about imported goods, we will explain the obligation of importers to include user manuals in Bahasa Indonesia for their imported goods.
Importers are Business Actors
First, let us see what is meant by business actors and importers.
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According to Article 1 number 3 Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection ("Law 8/1999"), a business actor is any individual or business entity, both in the form of legal entities and non-legal entities, established and domiciled or conduct activities within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Indonesia, both individually and jointly through an agreement to carry out a business activity in various economic sectors.
Meanwhile, according to Article 1 number 7 and 8 of Regulation of the Government Number 29 of 2021 on the Organization of the Trade Sector ("Government Regulation 29/2021"), an importer is an individual or institution, or business entity, either in the form of an incorporated or unincorporated legal entity, which conducts import, namely the activity of entering goods into the customs area/territory.
Thus, referring to the two provisions above, it can be seen that importers are business actors, and therefore are subject to Law 8/1999. This has also been clarified through the Elucidation of Article 1 number 3 Law 8/1999:
Business actors included in this definition are corporate companies, BUMN, cooperatives, importers, traders, distributors, and so forth.
Business Actors are Required to Include User Manuals for Goods in Bahasa Indonesia
The obligation of business actors to include user manuals for goods in Bahasa Indonesia has been regulated in Article 8 section (1) letter j Law 8/1999:
Business actors must not produce and/or trade goods and/or services that do not provide information and/or direction for the use of goods in the Indonesian language in accordance with the provisions of prevailing laws and regulations.
Business actors who violate this provision are subject to imprisonment for a maximum of 5 years or a maximum fine of IDR 2 billion.[1]
Article 23 section (3) Government Regulation 29/2021 stipulates that goods relating to the safety, security, and health of consumers and the environment, must contain clear and easy-to-understand instructions for use/user manuals and hazard symbols and/or warning signs.
Based on this provision, it is true that business actors (including importers) who are going to trade goods in Indonesia must include information and/or user manuals for goods in Bahasa Indonesia.
Requirements to Include User Manuals in Bahasa Indonesia for Telematics and Electronic Products
Telematics and electronic products are defined as follows:[2]
Telematics products are products of the telecommunications hardware industry and their supporting industries, broadcasting devices, and their supporting industries, computer and equipment industries, software and multimedia content industries, as well as information and communication technology creative industries.
Electronic Products are electronic products that are intended to be worn, used, or utilized by consumers.
These user manuals must at least include the following:[3]
Names and complete addresses of producers for domestic products;
Full names and addresses of importers for imported products;
Brands, types, and/or models of products;
Product specifications;
Information on how to use it in accordance with the function of the product; and
Maintenance instructions.
Any violation of the abovementioned obligations will result in administrative sanctions in the form of:[4]
Maximum of 2 written reprimands for a maximum period of 14 business days; and
Withdrawal of electronic and telematics products from their market circulation and temporary suspension of trading activities until the implementation of the obligation to complete each electronic and telematics product with user manuals and guarantee cards in Bahasa Indonesia which have been affixed with registration numbers;
Revocation of business licenses, in the event, that after the end of the imposition of administrative sanctions, producers/importers continue to trade the goods;
Revocation of the registration mark, if producers/importers violate the obligation to fulfill the requirement of materials of user manuals and/or guarantee cards.
In answer to your question, are batteries and flashlights included? According to our research, batteries, in this case, primary batteries, are included in the goods for which Indonesian National Standard (Standar Nasional Indonesia/”SNI”) has been applied or for which technical requirements have been complied with, that must be registered in order to obtain goods registration numbers, as regulated in the Appendix to Regulation of the Minister of Trade 26/2021. Unfortunately, however, we did not find any specific terms for flashlights, instead, they are included as self-ballasted lamps, electronic ballasts, and spotlight luminaires. However, both are not included in the list of electronic and telematics products, which are required to include user manuals in Indonesian.
However, we still recommend that importers continue to include user manuals for batteries and flashlights in Bahasa Indonesia, since knowing the Article 8 section (1) letter j Law 8/1999.
These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.
