Overview

Following the issuance of Government Regulation 42 of 2024 on the Organisation of Halal Product Assurance, we issued the following client update on halal certification “Halal certification for the F&B sector is now in effect! Have you complied?”. In that client update we explained that the government set certain timelines for businesses that import, circulate and trade in products to obtain a halal certificate and for a halal label to be affixed to such products. Such certificates and labels are issued by the Indonesian Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency (BPJPH).

On 31 December 2024, BPJPH issued a new decree (Decree 80 of 2024), introducing updated procedures for halal certification applications and guidelines for Micro and Small-Scale Businesses (New Procedures).

The New Procedures aim to increase quality control and legal certainty in the halal certification process, particularly for self-declared or facilitated schemes, replacing the old procedures set out under Decree 61 of 2022 on the Standard Operating Procedure for Halal Certification Application Services at BPJPH (Old Decree).

This article highlights the main aspects of the New Procedures.

What are the New Procedures?

Here's a quick summary of what's new:

New self-declaration and product name expansion procedures for MSBs

In addition to the above changes, the New Procedures introduced the following two new mechanisms to benefit MSBs:

1. Voluntary halal certification (self-declared & self-funded). MSBs that wish to apply through the self-declared mechanism may now do so independently by paying a regulated fee, rather than needing to be assisted by a “third party facilitator”. A third-party facilitator is an institution or organisation that registers on a particular BPJPH platform to coordinate and finance the halal certification process for groups of MSBs (Facilitator); and
2. Self-declared additional product naming procedure. BPJPH now permits MSBs to develop additional product names for the same product type using a self-declaration mechanism (in the form of a statement made by the MSB). This procedure enables halal-certified businesses to add or expand product names under an existing halal certificate without undergoing a completely new certification process, subject to certain requirements.

Key takeaways

BPJPH’s move to upgrade the existing halal certification procedures and introduce new procedures is likely to make it easier for all businesses to obtain halal certification for their products and satisfy the statutory requirement for them to do so. Many halal certification procedures that had been unclear under the Old Decree have now been refined and clarified in the New Procedures. The inclusion of eligibility criteria for the self-declaration mechanism for MSBs’ halal certification and additional product naming also adds clarity and improves legal certainty.

By expanding certification pathways, both regular and self-declared, whether independent or Facilitator-assisted, the New Procedures appear to make it easier for businesses to achieve halal certification, particularly MSBs. The new approach aims to boost compliance while supporting business growth in the halal sector.

That said, it is also worth noting that the New Procedures appear to have been issued primarily for the purpose of addressing the lack of clarity surrounding the implementation of facilitated halal certification schemes for MSBs. While regulatory clarity has improved in certain areas, potential issues remain for non-MSBs. The New Procedures focus primarily on MSBs and do not clearly address or distinguish non-MSBs. In particular, the term “business actors” (pelaku usaha) is not clearly defined, and could result in continued uncertainty. Since the New Procedures were only recently introduced, their effectiveness remains to be seen.

We will continue to monitor the regulations concerning halal certification and their practice in Indonesia and will share any significant updates as they emerge.