WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/998 
5 March 2010 
 (10-1220) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATI ONAL STANDARD FOR PHYTOSANITARY 
MEASURES (ISPM) NO. 15 CONCERNING WOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL  
 
Communication from Indonesia
 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 2 March 2010, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of Indonesia . 
 
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I. BACKGROUND 
1. Wood packaging that is imported into the terr itory of the Republic of Indonesia has the 
potential to act as a carrier of quarantine pests.  Regarding this issue, the Government of Indonesia 
adopted the Decree of the Minister of Agricultu re No. 12/2009 concerning Requirements and Plant 
Quarantine Actions for the Importation of Wood P ackaging into the Territory of the Republic of 
Indonesia.  This Decree has been notified to th e WTO Secretariat in notification G/SPS/N/IDN/27, 
dated 29 May 2006, and the entry into force of the regulation has been notified under in G/SPS/N/IDN/27/Add.1, dated 20 April 2009. 
2. Following the revision of the ISPM No. 15 in 2009, in order to implement the Minister Decree 
No. 12/2009 effectively and efficiently, the Indo nesian Agricultural Quar antine Agency of the 
Ministry of Agriculture prepared the Decree of  the Director General of Indonesian Agricultural 
Quarantine Agency No. 295 of 2009 concerning Implementation Guidelines of the Decree of the Minister of Agriculture No. 12/2009 as guidelines for Plant Quarantine Inspectors conducting plant 
quarantine measures related to the importation of w ood packaging material into the territory of the 
Republic of Indonesia. 
3. Indonesia considers the implementation of both Decrees to be in accordance with the 
International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 15 of 2002 and the revised ISPM No. 
15 of 2009. 
II. SCOPE OF WOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL 
4. In the Decree of the Director General of th e Indonesian Agricultura l Quarantine Agency No. 
295 of 2009, Wood Packaging Materials are define d as wood or unprocessed wood products that are 
used to wedge or pack in the shipment and/or  accompany the import commodity, with a thickness of 
more than 6 mm.  Wood Packaging Materials mentione d in the Decree, such as pallets, skids, crates, 
dunnage, drums, cases, load boards and pallet collars that are used in the importation of a commodity 
into the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, are subject to plant quarantine requirements and 
measures. G/SPS/GEN/998 
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  5. The following articles are to be exempt ed from the provisions of this Decree: 
(a) Wood packaging material made entirely from thin wood (6 mm or less); 
(b) Wood packaging made wholly of processed wood material that has been created 
using glue, heat and pressure, or a combin ation thereof, such as plywood, particle 
board, oriented strand board, veneer, and veneer peeler cores; 
(c) Barrels of wine and spirits that have been heated during manufacture; 
(d) Gift boxes for wine, cigars and other commodities made from wood that has been 
processed and/or manufactured in a way that renders it free of pests; 
(e) Sawdust, wood shaving, wood wool;  and 
(f) Wood components permanently attached to freight vehicles and containers. 
III. REQUIREMENTS ON THE IMPORTATION OF WOOD PACKAGING 
MATERIALS INTO THE TERRITORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA 
6. Every importation of wood packaging material in to the territory of the Republic of Indonesia 
must comply with the following requirements: 
(a) Enter through a designated point of entry as defined by the Decree of the Minister of 
Agriculture No. 469 of 2002 concerning the En try and Exit Points for Quarantine Pest 
Carriers; 
(b) Be notified and submitted to a Plant Quarantine Inspector at the point of entry for 
quarantine measures;  and 
(c) Debarked, with exemptions as follows: 
• less than 3 cm in width (regardless of the length);  or  
• greater than 3 cm in width, with the total surface area of an individual piece 
of bark less than 50 square cm. 
(d) Marked,  with the marking carried out by a registered institution in the country of 
origin or in the transit country, as follows. 
• For reused wood packaging material wh ich has been marked, the original 
mark, as long as the condition of th e material still complies with the 
requirements (is not broken and is not contaminated with quarantine pests) 
and still can be reused; 
• For repaired wood packaging material, not  more than two (2) are allowed:  
the original mark and a mark on the repaired component;  and 
• For remanufactured wood packaging material, the material must be re-treated  
and marked with a new mark. 
Packing Declaration 
7. In order to facilitate the investigation of th e packaging identity of an import commodity, the 
owner or authorized party shall submit the P acking Declaration published by the wood packaging 
provider, exporter, forwarder, or shipping lines in the country of origin or transit country to the Plant 
Quarantine Inspector by the time of reporting, with a carbon copy to the Customs Office.  G/SPS/GEN/998 
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  8. The Packing Declaration must contain such in formation as the quantity of wood packaging, 
explanations about markings, and the container number. 
(a) For import commodities that are not accompanied by a Packing Declaration, the 
entirety of the packaging of the imported commodity needs to be inspected;  and 
(b) For import commodities that are accompanied by a Packing Declaration but do not 
use wood packaging or use wood packaging material which is exempted from this 
Decree, the packaging will not be subject  to further plant quarantine measures. 
Application of the Mark 
 
9. The Mark that is added on the wood packaging im ported into the territory of the Republic of 
Indonesia must be: 
(a) Clear, and permanent (does not fade or coul d not be erased or moved, is not in the 
form of a sticker); 
(b) Limited to  not more than two kinds of mark; 
(c) Placed in a visible location, preferably at least on the two opposite sides of the wood 
packaging unit; 
(d) Not be hand drawn; 
(e) In any color other than red or orange; 
(f) Intact; 
(g) Indicate one kind of treatment for each packaging; 
(h) Added only on the wood packaging, not on the commodity or container;  and 
(i) Added after verifying that the packaging h as been subjected to an approved treatment. 
Type of Accepted Mark 
 
10. Variants of the required components of the mark that is used to certify that the wood 
packaging material has been subjected to an appr oved treatment will be accepted provided that they 
meet the requirements set out in the Revised ISPM No.15 of 2009.  
Treatment 
 
11. The purpose of the treatment is to protect w ood packaging material from quarantine pests.  
Treatment of the wood packaging material may be conducted using methyl bromide (CH 3Br), heat 
treatment (HT) or other equivalent treatments that could protect wood packaging material from 
quarantine pest.  
12. Treatments shall comply with  ISPM No. 15 of 2009. 
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