Halal Certification For Logistic Services Business

By: Muhammad Haryadi and Ryan Mandela.

1. Logistic Services

Practically, the logistic services is classified as a business who has a main role to manage and coordinate the flow of goods and services, including transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and related activities. This business sector contains the following various activities:
a. Transportation. This services may be provided through land, sea or air, whether domestic or international coverage;
b. Warehousing. This services is temporarily provided before a distribution or sale of goods;
c. Inventory Management. This services commonly is a part of warehousing services for time efficiency and controlling;
d. Customs Clearance. This services is provided for international transported goods before widely traded in the territory of a country;
e. Distribution. This services is provided to support the movement of traded goods for reaching out a destined area.

2. Halal Certificate

a. Overview on Halal Certification For Logistic Services Business

Halal is widely known as “permissible’’, and UU JPH clearly defines halal product as a product that has been declared as halal according to Islamic law. Such declaration is manifested through series of procedure before finally issuing a legal product called “Halal Certificate”.

This certificate is issued by the Halal Product Assurance Agency (Badan Jaminan Penyelenggara Produk Halal – ‘’BPJPH’’) based on a written fatwa or the determination of the products halal status by the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia – MUI), the Aceh Ulama Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama Aceh) or the Halal Products Fatwa Committee (Komite Fatwa Produk Halal) by depending on the location of applicant.

Recently, the Indonesian government introduced new regulations requiring Halal Certificate to be mandatory to all goods and its supporting services. The underlying regulation governing halal certification in Indonesia lies within Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Assurance (‘’UU JPH’’). It mentions that all products entering, circulating, and trade in Indonesia must be certified as Halal unless they are explicitly Non-halal.

UU JPH clearly defines the object of halal certification as goods and/or services related to food, beverages, medicine, cosmetic, chemical products, biological products, genetically engineered products, as well as used goods that are worn, used, or utilized by the public. It is the reason that logistic services business sector falls within the object of halal certification due to its roles in the chain supply that could affect the quality of the product itself.

b. Highlight of Certification Process

The certification process is done through several statutory steps, including application, document review, inspection and audit, etc. However, the Halal Inspection Agency (Lembaga Pemeriksa Halal – ‘’LPH’’) emphasizes on the onsite inspection and audit for logistic services business sector before the issuance of halal certificate. The inspection covers several critical areas:

  • Goods Segregation. These activities to ensure that halal goods are transported and stored separately from non-halal products to prevent contamination.
  • Sanitation. These activities to verify that transportation vehicles, storage facilities, and handling equipment are cleaned and maintained according to halal requirements.
  • Handling procedures. These reviewing activities to ensure that all standard handling procedures comply with halal requirements.
  • Employee Training. These activities to ensure that all personnel of logistic services provider are adequately trained with halal knowledge.

c. Future obligations

Obtaining a halal certification signifies the logistic services provider dedication to meet and maintain the standards of Islamic law. The future obligations in maintaining such standards are as follows: 

  • Compliance Obligation. The logistic services provider to maintain the compliance with halal requirements at all times, including regular internal audits and possibly periodic inspection by BPJPH or LPH;
  • Reporting Obligation. Any significant change in operation, procedures or equipment that might affect the halal status to be reported to BPJPH for further assessments;
  • Recertification or Renewal Obligation. The halal certificate is valid from the time to time as long as no change in the certified logistic process. The recertification or renewal of halal certificate requires the same process as a new application.