A man sits next to an iPhone 16 advertisement as the new iPhone 16 series smartphones go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing. - PHOTO: REUTERS
JAKARTA (The Straits Times/ANN): Travellers to Indonesia can bring their iPhone 16 into the country, but the sale of the phones is not allowed, said Indonesia’s Industry Ministry.
The iPhone 16, which was released by US tech giant Apple in September, cannot be sold in Indonesia as the company has not met Indonesia’s local investment targets.
However, the phones can be brought into Indonesia if they are for personal use, or when shipped through courier service, reported the Jakarta Globe.
Industry Ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arif reportedly said in a statement on Oct 26: “iPhone 16 units brought by passengers and subject to taxes are personal belongings that cannot be sold and are limited to the passenger’s personal use.”
Each passenger is allowed to bring up to two iPhone 16s into Indonesia, reported the Jakarta Globe.
About 9,000 iPhone 16s were brought into Indonesia as personal baggage, with taxes paid, between August and October. But the phones will be deemed illegal if sold in Indonesia.
iPhone 16 units that enter Indonesia through postal services for non-commercial use are also allowed as they do not need to meet the local investment target.
According to The Jakarta Post, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said on Oct 22 that Apple has yet to fulfil its pledge of investing 1.71 trillion rupiah (S$144.6 million) in Indonesia, which is required before it can obtain the licence to sell the phones locally.
Agus said then that Apple has invested 1.48 trillion rupiah thus far.
Apple on Oct 11 said that it is “deeply committed to Indonesia and excited to bring all of our latest products, including the iPhone 16 line-up, to our customers as soon as possible”, reported The Jakarta Post.
