Indonesia, the world’s largest muslim-majority nation, is beefing up its penalties and sanctions on companies that have violated halal regulations and requirements, in lieu of the mandatory halal certification which is expected to take effect on 18 October 2026.
The country’s halal assurance body, BPJPH, has also rolled out regulations detailing the punishments for violations. According to BPJPH Chief Ahmad Haikal Hassan, “We need to back our monitoring of [halal assurance] with a law enforcement mechanism that is clear, fair, and gives certainty for everyone.”
The sanctions will apply to businesses that not only secure their halal certificates, but also fail to report changes in their ingredient compositions. The same goes for companies that do not indicate the halal labels on their products. BPJPH may revoke their halal certificates or even stop their distribution in the Indonesian market.
Sanctions also include revoking the registration numbers of the halal auditors and foreign certificates. BPJPH may also temporarily freeze the operations of halal inspection agencies for up to 6 months. During this time, BPJPH may also give them coaching to make improvements.
Indonesia has signed some mutual recognition agreements with foreign halal insurers to eliminate dual certification bottlenecks. The deals will see Indonesia recognizing foreign-issued halal certificates and vice versa, streamlining cross-border commerce.
