Photo: ANTARA/Muh Hasanuddin
Indonesia has pushed back the mandatory halal certification deadline for micro and small enterprises to October 2028, after the government acknowledged that the original 18 October 2026 cut-off would not be met.
The extension was announced by Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday, following what he described as a direct instruction from President Prabowo Subianto. “The president asked us to postpone the deadline, which was October 18,” Maman said, as quoted by the state news agency ANTARA.
According to Maman, the free SEHATI halal certification programme, administered by the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), had targeted 1.35 million MSME certifications in 2026 but fell well short of that goal. He said many small business owners found the certification process burdensome and lacked the capacity to prepare the required documentation. “The target was missed, and many MSMEs felt the timing was wrong,” he said.
Maman noted that the halal certification requirement itself predates the current administration, stemming from Law No. 33 of 2014 and Government Regulation No. 42 of 2024, as amended by Regulation No. 40 of 2026.
The ministry said it would assess the impact of the extension and work towards a compromise that follows the president’s directive while meeting the underlying legal requirements. “We must ensure this does not become a burden for MSMEs,” Maman said.
