Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has dismissed speculation surrounding a possible transfer of authority from Indonesia’s Customs and Excise Directorate General, insisting that President Prabowo Subianto wants the institution to be strengthened rather than weakened.
The clarification came after recent public debate triggered by remarks from officials linked to the National Economic Council regarding potential reforms to Indonesia’s export monitoring and customs system.
Speaking to journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday, Purbaya said he had never received any instruction from President Prabowo suggesting that the authority or functions of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise would be transferred elsewhere.
“Some people may have said that, but I have never received any instruction from the President regarding such a plan, and it appears the President has never discussed that direction for the future,” Purbaya said.
“On the contrary, he said that we should strengthen Customs,” he added.
The statement was intended to calm growing speculation over the future role of Indonesia’s customs authority after discussions emerged regarding the government’s efforts to improve export governance, particularly in the natural resources sector.
Purbaya emphasized that the Customs Directorate General would continue carrying out its existing responsibilities, including oversight, inspections, and monitoring of export-import activities.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the institution would continue undergoing gradual improvements and reforms in line with broader directives from the President aimed at improving governance and reducing leakages in state revenue.
According to Purbaya, the government’s focus remains on improving supervision and institutional performance rather than eliminating or replacing the Customs authority.
If misconduct or abuse of authority occurs within the institution, he said the government would address the issue through personnel action and internal reforms rather than structural dismantling.
“If there are irregularities, then there will simply be dismissals or corrective action,” Purbaya explained.
He also clarified that PT DSI, which had been mentioned in discussions surrounding export reform, would only focus on trading-related activities, while Customs officers would continue performing their regulatory and inspection duties.
“Everything remains the same. Reporting processes still go there. PT DSI handles trading activities, but Customs still handles inspections and supervision for exports and imports,” he said.
The controversy emerged after remarks from Luhut Binsar Panjaitan appeared to suggest that some functions of the Customs Directorate General could eventually be transferred or reorganized.
The comments sparked widespread public discussion and speculation regarding whether Indonesia was considering a major overhaul of its customs and trade monitoring system.
However, in a subsequent clarification, National Economic Council spokesperson Jodi Mahardi stated that the primary focus of the proposed reforms was limited to strengthening export governance in the natural resources sector, particularly through integrated digital systems.
According to Jodi, Luhut’s comments were intended to emphasize the importance of strengthening SIMBARA, an integrated digital monitoring platform formally known as the Inter-Ministerial Mineral and Coal Information System.
The system has been developed as part of Indonesia’s effort to improve transparency and coordination in the management of mineral and coal commodities, sectors that generate substantial state revenue but have historically faced governance challenges.
SIMBARA integrates data across multiple government institutions involved in the mining and export process.
The platform connects information related to production volumes, sales transactions, royalty payments, export permits, and state revenue obligations into a unified monitoring system.
Officials argue that this integrated approach allows authorities to track the movement of natural resource commodities more accurately while reducing opportunities for manipulation, smuggling, or tax evasion.
Jodi described SIMBARA as one of the clearest examples of successful cross-agency data integration in Indonesia’s public administration system.
“The system has connected data across ministries and institutions in mineral and coal trade management, beginning from production, sales, payment of state obligations, and exports,” he explained.
According to the government, the platform enables monitoring processes to become more integrated and transparent while strengthening oversight and minimizing opportunities for irregularities or state revenue leakage.
The government now hopes to replicate similar approaches across broader areas of export governance, particularly for strategic natural resource commodities.
“In the future, approaches such as SIMBARA are expected to become one of the spearheads for strengthening natural resource trade and export governance through more comprehensive and real-time data integration,” Jodi said.
Indonesia has long struggled with challenges involving illegal exports, underreporting of commodity production, smuggling, and revenue leakage in resource-rich sectors such as coal, nickel, palm oil, and other mining industries.
As Southeast Asia’s largest economy and one of the world’s leading exporters of natural resources, Indonesia relies heavily on export revenues from commodities to support economic growth and fiscal stability.
However, concerns over corruption, illegal mining, and weak supervision have repeatedly prompted calls for stronger oversight mechanisms.
The government under President Prabowo has increasingly prioritized digital governance reforms aimed at improving transparency, increasing state revenue collection, and strengthening institutional accountability.
Artificial intelligence and real-time data integration are expected to play a major role in these efforts.
Jodi confirmed that the government plans to utilize artificial intelligence technologies to support oversight and strengthen inter-agency data integration.
The use of AI, according to officials, is intended to maximize transparency while reducing opportunities for fraud, manipulation, and revenue leakage.
The initiative reflects a broader global trend in which governments are turning toward digital systems and predictive technologies to improve customs administration and trade supervision.
For Indonesia, improving export governance is considered especially important as the country seeks to maximize benefits from its abundant natural resources while simultaneously attracting greater international investment.
The issue has become increasingly relevant amid Indonesia’s growing ambitions to develop downstream industries, including electric vehicle battery production and mineral processing.
The government has repeatedly stated that stronger governance systems are necessary to ensure that state revenues from strategic commodities are properly monitored and protected.
Despite the speculation surrounding institutional reform, Purbaya insisted that Customs would remain central to Indonesia’s export-import supervision framework.
The Finance Ministry continues to view the Customs Directorate General as one of the country’s most important institutions for trade regulation, revenue collection, and border supervision.
Indonesia’s Customs authority plays a crucial role in monitoring imports and exports, collecting duties and excise taxes, preventing smuggling, and enforcing trade regulations.
The institution also serves as a frontline agency for protecting domestic industries and ensuring compliance with national economic policies.
Observers note that rather than replacing Customs, the government appears more focused on integrating its operations with broader digital monitoring systems capable of improving coordination across ministries and agencies.
Such reforms are increasingly viewed as necessary as Indonesia’s trade flows become more complex and its export sectors expand rapidly.
For now, officials have sought to reassure businesses, exporters, and investors that no major disruption to the Customs system is being planned.
Instead, the government says the priority is strengthening oversight mechanisms while modernizing the country’s trade governance infrastructure through technology and institutional coordination.
As Indonesia pushes forward with economic modernization and resource governance reforms, the debate surrounding Customs highlights the broader challenge of balancing institutional continuity with demands for greater transparency and efficiency in one of Southeast Asia’s largest economies.
