History of Customs in Indonesia

Customs in Indonesia is believed to have existed since the days of the kingdom, but no strong written evidence has been found. The institution at that time was still "local" according to the kingdom's territory. Since the VOC entered, Customs began to be institutionalized "nationally". During the Dutch East Indies era, the term douane also entered to refer to Customs officers (this term is often still attached today).

The official name of Customs during the Dutch East Indies era was De Dienst der Invoer en Uitvoerrechten en Accijnzen (I. U & A) or in free translation means "Import Duty and Export Duty and Excise Service". Its task is to collect invoer-rechten (import duty), uitvoer-rechten (export duty), and accijnzen (excise).

The task of collecting duties ("bea" comes from Sanskrit), both import and export, as well as excise (derived from India) is what then gave rise to the term Bea dan Cukai in Indonesia. The regulations that underlie it at that time included Gouvernment Besluit Number 33 dated December 22, 1928 which was later amended by a government decision dated June 1, 1934. During the Japanese occupation, based on Law Number 13 concerning the Opening of Government Offices in Java and Sumatra dated April 29, 1942, the task of managing import and export duties was abolished, Customs temporarily only took care of excise.

The Customs institution after Indonesia's independence was formed on October 01, 1946 under the name Pejabatan Bea dan Cukai. At that time, the Junior Minister of Finance, Sjafrudin Prawiranegara, appointed R.A Kartadjoemena as the first Head of the Customs and Excise Office. If asked when is the anniversary of Indonesian Customs, then October 1, 1946 can be seen as the right date.

Based on Government Regulation Number 51 of 1948, the term Pejabatan Bea Cukai changed to Jawatan Bea dan Cukai, which lasted until 1965. After 1965 until now, the name has become the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC).