Gold Allowance for Travellers to Indonesia (2026)

Duty on gold above the US$500 allowance

Each passenger can bring in personal goods acquired abroad worth up to US$500 FOB per arrival without paying import duty or taxes. Above that, personal goods are charged 10% import duty on the value above US$500, plus VAT. Under PMK 34/2025, in force from 6 June 2025, personal goods over the allowance no longer pay Article 22 import income tax. VAT is 12% on a base of 11/12 of the value for goods that are not luxury goods, which works out at 11%.

Goods that customs treats as non-personal, such as quantities for sale, get no allowance and pay 10% duty, VAT and 5% income tax. Customs officers decide the category on a risk basis, so large quantities of new jewellery or gold bars may be treated this way. Regular haj pilgrims are exempt from duty on all their personal goods, and a customs official said in June 2025 that this includes gold brought back from Saudi Arabia as the pilgrim's own property; special pilgrims get US$2,500.

Declaring gold and cash

Since September 2025, arriving passengers make the customs declaration on the All Indonesia arrival card, which replaced the electronic customs declaration (e-CD). Declare goods worth more than US$500. Passengers aged over 60, passengers with disabilities and haj pilgrims may declare verbally.

Cash and other payment instruments (rupiah or foreign currency, cheques, traveller's cheques, promissory notes and giro) worth Rp100 million or more must be declared on entry and exit. The fine for not declaring is 10% of the amount, up to Rp300 million. The rule covers money and payment instruments; it does not mention gold.

Taking gold out of Indonesia: the new export duty

PMK 80/2025 added gold to Indonesia's export duty list from 23 December 2025, and customs at Soekarno-Hatta has applied it to air passengers. Minted bars and cast bars pay 7.5% when the reference price is US$2,800 to under US$3,200 an ounce and 10% at US$3,200 or more; granules pay 10–12.5% and doré 12.5–15%. The duty is calculated from the weight, the export reference price and the exchange rate. In January 2026 a US citizen leaving with 3 kg of minted bars paid 10%, about Rp696 million. The regulation's published categories do not include jewellery.

If you take jewellery or other goods abroad and plan to bring them back, declare them on departure so they are not treated as new imports when you return. Tourists who stay no more than 60 days can claim VAT back on goods bought within 30 days of departure from shops with the Tax Free Shop logo, if the VAT on each invoice is at least Rp50,000 and the total VAT is at least Rp500,000. Register at vatrefundapp.pajak.go.id and claim at the airport refund counter.

Indonesia to Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Malaysia

Pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia often bring gold; regular haj pilgrims' personal goods are exempt, but umrah travellers get the normal US$500 allowance. Gold bought in Singapore, Malaysia or the UAE counts towards the US$500 at its invoice value. Taking Indonesian gold bars to India, Hong Kong or elsewhere now means paying Indonesian export duty first, and the destination's own rules on arrival.

Practical tips

Keep invoices showing the weight, purity and price of any gold, and carry it in your hand baggage. If you take valuable jewellery abroad, declare it on departure. Customs must be cleared within 30 days or uncleared goods can be treated as abandoned. Rules have changed twice since 2025, so check with Bea Cukai before you travel.