Thousands of iPhone 16 Units Enter Indonesia Amid Negotiations with Apple

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Jakarta – A total of 12,000 iPhone 16 units were detected entering Indonesia as of November 2024. This information was revealed by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin), Febri Hendri Antoni.

The products entered legally through various channels, including as personal goods carried by passengers from abroad. This number was recorded in the Centralized Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), the Ministry of Industry’s IMEI information processing center.

The entry of Apple’s latest product into Indonesia occurs amid ongoing negotiations between the Indonesian government and the U.S. tech giant. The government has requested Apple to revise its investment proposal as the initial offer does not meet expectations.

“More than 12,000 units of the iPhone 16 series have been registered with IMEIs in our CEIR system,” said Febri at the Ministry of Industry Building, South Jakarta, Monday (13/1/2025).

As a reminder, the iPhone 16 has not yet been authorized for sale in Indonesia due to unresolved compliance with Domestic Content Level (TKDN) requirements. However, the devices can enter the country through personal passenger belongings. Of the Rp 1.7 trillion investment commitment, Apple has yet to fulfill some of its promised investments.

In addition to personal passenger belongings, Febri noted that some iPhone 16 units were brought into Indonesia by diplomats. Permissions for this are managed by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi).

“They should have entered as passenger belongings. But there are a few, perhaps a small number, brought in via Komdigi for diplomats,” he added.

Channels for iPhone Entry into Indonesia

Febri detailed four channels through which iPhone 16 units can enter Indonesia:

  1. Through IMEI issuance by the Ministry of Industry.
  2. As personal belongings carried by passengers who pay their own taxes to Customs.
  3. Via Komdigi, specifically for diplomats.
  4. Issued by cellular operators for limited periods.

Febri emphasized that the channel through the Ministry of Industry has not yet been opened.

“If there are more than 12,000 units, they likely came through all these channels except ours. This means they entered via the other three channels, with most going through Customs,” he explained.

Earlier, Apple representatives met with the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Investment and Industrial Downstreaming/BKPM on the same day, Tuesday (7/1). Apple committed to investing $1 billion (around Rp 16 trillion) to establish an AirTag factory in Batam.

The Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, stressed that Apple’s investment commitment does not automatically grant permission to sell the iPhone 16 in Indonesia. The AirTag factory in Batam is not directly related to handphone, handheld computer, and tablet (HKT) products.

Agus has requested Apple to propose a specific investment for building Research and Development (R&D) facilities related to HKT components, including iPhones.

“They (Apple) have presented an investment value to us, but we conveyed that the value proposed by Apple under this scheme is still below the calculated technical requirements we had previously communicated,” said Agus Gumiwang to reporters at the Ministry of Industry office, South Jakarta, Wednesday (8/1).

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