The Batam Customs and Excise Office has tracked down a syndicate misusing the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) registration on iPhone mobile devices.
This practice is carried out to avoid the obligation to pay import duties and taxes (PDRI) on mobile devices brought into Indonesia.
Zaky Firmansyah, Head of the Batam Customs and Excise Office, said that his office had conducted an in-depth study to prevent this jockeying practice.
“We are conducting a thorough study and looking for solutions for improvement, both in the form of preventive measures, enforcement, and proposals for regulatory improvements if this jockeying is still rampant,” Zaky said on Saturday, February 1, 2025.
He cited that the action was carried out at different locations, the first at the Batam Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal on Monday, January 27, 2025. Meanwhile, the second was at the Batam Center Port on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
From both locations, 42 iPhone units worth Rp246 million (US$15,000) in total, with potential import duties and taxes that could benefit the state of around Rp80 million and 14 perpetrators were secured.
Zaky said that the perpetrator used personal data from the Batam Resident Identity Card (KTP) to register the IMEI of other people’s cellphones, in order to avoid paying import duties and taxes.
“We have interviewed the perpetrators, and they admitted that they acted as jockeys to register IMEIs using other people’s data,” he said.
Furthermore, Batam Customs has also submitted a recommendation to the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) to block the IMEI of devices that have been registered by jockeys.
