REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government said intangible goods would be slapped with import duty starting January next year, a senior minister said here on Monday.

Intangible goods imported electronically would be charged with import duty although Indonesia is still bound by moratorium of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution.

Under the WTO moratorium, developing countries are not allowed to impose import duties on intangible goods trade electronically, Darmin, a key speaker at a seminar on "Outlook of Industry 2018" here on Monday, said.

He said the government does not need to ask for approval or to lobby the WTO into allowing imposition of import duty on intangible goods as the moratorium would be effective only until Dec 31 this year.

Earlier, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said she hopes intangible goods such as e-books, software, etc. could be imposed with import duty next year.

The Finance Ministry is studying plan to impose import duties on intangible goods on which the procedure of imposing import duties has not been determined by the World Customs Organization (WCO).

With the growing e-commerce, imposition of import duties on intangible goods would create a new potential contributor to the state income.

This year, developing nations including Indonesia has proposed to WTO that in 2018, intangible goods could be slapped with import duties.

The WTO moratorium was effective since May 20 in 1998 in the Second Ministerial Conference in Geneva. A similar conference is to be held from 10 to 13 December 2017 in Argentina.

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