Background
Law No. 33 of 2014 on Halal Product Assurance; the government regulation was replaced by that of 2022
Resolution No. 2 on job creation ('Job Creation Regulation') (collectively, the 'Halal Product Law') has been promulgated as a mandate of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (the '1945 Constitution'). The 1945 Constitution stipulates that the state must ensure that citizens of the Republic of Indonesia have the right to act according to their own
beliefs. As Islam is the majority religion of Indonesia's population and a recognized religion in Indonesia, through the Halal Product Law and its implementing regulations, the government intends to ensure the Halal status of products distributed in the territory of Indonesia, ensuring that Muslims in Indonesia can regularly fulfill and be protected in consuming Halal products in their daily lives.
Under the Halal Product Law, a Halal product is essentially a product (food, beverage, medicine, cosmetics, etc.) declared Halal according to Halal regulations or standards and holding a Halal certificate and Halal logo.
Generally, the Halal Product Law requires that all products, unless they are made based on the following ingredients or materials, must undergo a procedure to be certified as Halal products: (i) coming from nature in the form of plant and mining materials, without any processing (pengolahan), (ii) classified as having no risk of haram ingredients, and (iii) not classified as dangerous and unrelated to haram ingredients. On the other hand, according to Islamic law, business actors producing products derived from non-Halal or forbidden (haram) ingredients or materials must label such non-Halal or forbidden (haram) products with a non-Halal label or information.
Halal certification overview
'All products' refers to goods and services related to food, beverages, medicines, cosmetics, chemical products, biological products and genetically engineered products, as well as goods used or utilized by the public that are imported/enter, distributed and traded within the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. Please note that the Minister of Religious Affairs Decree No. 1360 of 2021 on ingredients exempted from the Halal certification obligation ('Decree No. 1360/2021') also lists ingredients or materials exempted from the obligation to obtain a Halal certificate. If (i) your product or the ingredients you use to produce the product are not listed in Decree No. 1360/2021, and (ii) such products or ingredients are imported/enter, distributed and traded within the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, then generally, if you have not fulfilled one or more of the above exemptions, you are obligated to obtain a Halal certificate for the product.
The certification process is carried out by the Halal Product Assurance Agency (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Produk Halal or 'BPJPH') in accordance with Indonesian Halal regulations and has the sole authority to issue Halal certificates. Non-compliance with Halal-certification-related obligations may result in business actors being subject to administrative sanctions under Government Regulation No. 39/2021, in forms including written warnings, administrative fines, revocation of the Halal certificate and/or confiscation of distributed goods or services.
General procedure for obtaining a Halal certificate and the obligation to apply a Halal label
1. Halal certificate application
The following documents must be filled out: data of the business participant, the name and type of the product, a list of products and ingredients or materials used, and the product processing procedure.
2. BPJPH document evaluation
BPJPH evaluates the completeness of the Halal certificate application documents.
3. Halal inspection
4. Issuance of the Halal certificate
5. Applying the Halal logo on the product.
Recent key changes
1. Phased Halal certification obligation and validity of the Halal certificate. Although a Halal certificate must generally be obtained, the mandatory obligation to obtain a Halal certificate applies/is implemented in the following phases:
Food and beverages, products from slaughtering and slaughtering services - deadline 17 October 2024
Traditional medicines, quasi-medicines and health supplements - deadline 17 October 2026
Over-the-counter and limited over-the-counter medicines - deadline 17 October 2029
Prescription medicines (except psychotropics) - deadline 17 October 2034
Cosmetics, chemical products and genetically engineered products - deadline 17 October 2026
Clothing, headwear and accessories - deadline 17 October 2026
Household health products, household appliances and stationery, etc. - deadline 17 October 2026
Medical devices (risk class A) - deadline 17 October 2026
Medical devices (risk class B) - deadline 17 October 2029
Medical devices (risk class C) - deadline 17 October 2034
If the goods you operate fall into the above categories, they must obtain BPJPH-HALAL certification after the above deadline dates; otherwise they will not be allowed to circulate in the Indonesian market. Enterprises that have not obtained BPJPH-HALAL certification after the deadline will be subject to varying degrees of fines or penalties of cancellation of operating qualifications.