Legal Consequences of Selling Products in Indonesia Without BPOM ML Registration

As Southeast Asia's largest economy, Indonesia maintains a strict regulatory system for market access of food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. BPOM (Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan) - Indonesia's National Agency of Drug and Food Control - is the core enforcement body responsible for pre-market approval and post-market supervision of products. Any product sold within Indonesia without a BPOM ML registration number (Makanan Luar Negeri, i.e. imported processed food) is acting unlawfully, and faces multiple layers of legal risk, from administrative penalties to criminal prosecution. Core Legal Basis Indonesia's regulation of unregistered products is not based on a single law, but on a tight framework made up of several pieces of legislation: 1. Law No. 18 of 2012 on Food (Undang-Undang No. 18 Tahun 2012 tentang Pangan) This is the basic law for Indonesia's food sector, covering the whole chain from production and import through to sale. Article 142 of this law clearly states that anyone who intentionally sells unregistered processed food within the country will face severe sanctions. 2. Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health (Undang-Undang No. 17 Tahun 2023 tentang Kesehatan) Enacted in 2023, this law replaced Law No. 36 of 2009 on Health and further strengthened control over the circulation of medicines and food. Article 435 is one of the provisions most frequently cited in recent BPOM enforcement; used together with Article 138, it forms the basis for criminal prosecution of offenders. 3. Law No. 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection (Undang-Undang No. 8 Tahun 1999 tentang Perlindungan Konsumen) Article 19 of this law prohibits business operators from making false or misleading statements about products, while Articles 60 to 63 set out administrative and criminal penalties respectively. 4. BPOM Regulation No. 27/2017 and Regulation No. 14/2024 Regulation No. 27 of 2017 details the specific requirements for BPOM registration, while Regulation No. 14 of 2024 comprehensively updates the rules for products distributed online (through electronic systems) , broadening the scope of supervision and clarifying the procedures for delisting and withdrawing products after online verification. Administrative Sanctions (Sanksi Administratif) For a first or relatively minor violation involving unregistered products, BPOM may impose administrative sanctions. Under BPOM Regulation No. 19/2025 on the follow-up handling of supervisory findings, the types of administrative sanction include: Written warning (Peringatan Tertulis) - requiring the offender to take corrective action within a specified period. Temporary suspension of activities or product circulation (Penghentian Sementara Kegiatan atau Peredaran) - immediately freezing the sale and distribution of the products concerned. Product recall and destruction order (Perintah Penarikan dan Pemusnahan Produk) - compulsory withdrawal of the product from all distribution channels, and its destruction. Freezing or revocation of the registration number / distribution licence (Pembekuan atau Pencabutan Sertifikat dan Izin Edar) - completely stripping the product of its lawful market status. Recommendation to revoke the business licence (Rekomendasi Pencabutan Izin Usaha) - through coordination with the commercial authorities, fundamentally terminating the offending company's right to operate. It is worth noting that administrative sanctions do not mean exemption from criminal liability. BPOM has the power to refer a case to criminal investigation at the same time as imposing an administrative penalty. Criminal Sanctions (Sanksi Pidana) Under Article 142 of the Food Law Under Article 142 of Law No. 18 of 2012 on Food, an individual or company that intentionally sells processed food without a distribution licence may be sentenced to: Up to 2 years' imprisonment A fine of up to IDR 4,000,000,000 (about 4 billion rupiah / roughly RMB 1.8 million) A former head of BPOM, Penny, once stated publicly in connection with a case of seized illegal beverages: 'Unregistered food cannot guarantee its safety, quality or nutritional value, and producers may add any substance to it - this is a criminal act that endangers human health.' Under Article 435 of the Health Law Article 435 of Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health, together with Article 138, provides an even stricter basis for criminal prosecution: Up to 12 years' imprisonment A fine of up to IDR 5,000,000,000 (about 5 billion rupiah / roughly RMB 2.25 million) This provision applies mainly to cases involving health hazards or aggravating circumstances. In July 2025, in a case involving the unregistered Australian health supplement Blackmores Super Magnesium+ sold on e-commerce platforms, BPOM invoked this provision to bring criminal proceedings against the distributor concerned. BPOM clearly warned that distributing unregistered health supplements may lead to criminal charges under Article 435. Under Articles 61-62 of the Consumer Protection Law Article 62 of Law No. 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection provides for: Up to 5 years' imprisonment A fine of up to IDR 2,000,000,000 In practice, when a product is not only unregistered but also contains harmful ingredients, enforcement agencies may impose cumulative penalties on the offender under several legal provisions. For example, violating both Article 142 of the Food Law (distribution without a licence) and Article 435 of the Health Law (involving a health hazard) leads to punishment for both offences. Corporate Criminal Liability (Korporasi) The Indonesian legal system recognises the criminal liability of corporations . Under the relevant laws, when the offending party is a legal entity (a company): Increased fines : a company may be fined up to three times the maximum fine applicable to an individual. Additional penalties : Revocation of specific rights Publication of the court judgment (a devastating blow to the company's reputation) Dissolution of the company This means that not only may the person in charge of the company be imprisoned, but the company itself may also face the most serious consequence of being ordered to dissolve. New 2024 Rules: Upgraded Supervision of Online Distribution In 2024, BPOM issued Regulation No. 14 of 2024 (PerBPOM No. 14 Tahun 2024), replacing the previous Regulation No. 8 of 2020 and imposing stricter supervision on products distributed online: Broader coverage : all medicines and food sold through electronic systems (e-commerce platforms, social media, self-built websites, etc.) are brought under supervision. Online verification obligation : platforms must verify the authenticity of the BPOM registration numbers uploaded by merchants. Rapid delisting mechanism : once a product is confirmed to be unregistered, BPOM can require the platform to remove the product listing within a specified time. Coordinated enforcement : BPOM has established a joint enforcement channel with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemenkomdigi). This means that even a foreign brand selling only on e-commerce platforms, with no physical store, cannot bypass BPOM ML registration. BPOM ML Registration: a Legal Line That Cannot Be Crossed Indonesia's BPOM ML registration is not an optional compliance item but the legal baseline for lawfully selling imported processed food in the Indonesian market . From written warnings to up to 12 years' imprisonment and fines of 5 billion rupiah, Indonesian law has built a tight penalty network spanning administrative, civil and criminal dimensions. The new 2024 rules and the continually tightening supervision of e-commerce have further narrowed the grey area. For any foreign brand that wishes to operate in the Indonesian market over the long term, 'register first, sell later' is not advice but a legal obligation that must be observed . The cost of non-compliance - whether financial loss, damage to brand reputation, or personal liberty - far exceeds the investment required for compliance itself.