Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated firmly that the government will not pay the salaries of customs employees who are placed on inactive status if they fail to improve their performance and professionalism. He emphasized that over the next year, customs officers must no longer engage in any form of misconduct or fraud related to export–import supervision or the circulation of illegal goods.

“For Customs, everything is clear. I told them that if they fail to improve within one year, there is a strong possibility that all customs employees will be put on leave,” Purbaya said during a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, Monday (December 8, 2025).

If poor conduct persists and the government ultimately needs to adopt measures similar to those during the New Order—disbanding the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) and replacing it with Switzerland’s SGS—he guaranteed that the employees would receive no salary.

“They can be sent home until retirement without payment. I won’t waste money on that. With this kind of pressure, I believe our people are smart enough to respond,” he stressed.

He said such discipline should significantly reduce smuggling and HS Code manipulation, even if eliminating them entirely is unrealistic.

Earlier, the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama, explained that the threat of suspension is part of the government’s corrective measures to ensure the agency performs according to the president’s expectations.

“It is a form of correction for Customs. Moving forward, we will strive to work better,” Djaka said at the DJBC Jakarta Regional Office on Wednesday (December 3, 2025).

Djaka affirmed that he does not want the agency’s performance to deteriorate again as it did between 1985 and 1995, a period he described as the darkest era for DJBC when it was replaced by SGS.

“We do not want that dark chapter repeated. Therefore, Customs must reform itself and eliminate its negative reputation,” he stated.

He also shared several improvement strategies, such as enhancing organizational culture, boosting supervision at ports and airports, expanding digital technology usage, and improving service to the public.

“When there is dissatisfaction, we will fix it gradually. We are optimizing available technology, including integrating port systems with AI to prevent under-invoicing. Our equipment continues to be upgraded with artificial intelligence capabilities,” Djaka added.