SNI Standard for Children’s Toy Will be Implemented. Is It Threat for SIC, SHF, and Gunpla Collectors?

Started in last 2013, Industrial Ministry announces the new implementation related with toys for children (you can read and read in this link). And effective on next 30 April, all children’s toys widely distributed and sold in Indonesia must be labeled SNI (Indonesian National Standard). If there is any toys without SNI label found, the government will withdraw from distribution. Although the news about obligation for children’s toy to fulfilled new SNI standard just spread in this past week, that policy has been reported to World Trade Organization (WTO) since July last year, and started to be implemented since 10 October 2013.

Industrial Ministry has issued regulation Number 24/2013 about implementation for SNI rules obligation for children’s toy. In that regulation, children’s toy is ruled cannot have sharp edge, cannot contain substances categorized as formalin or dangerous chemical substance and other several regulations.

Many children’s toy distribution with cheap price is found in market, various toy products found contain dangerous chemical substances. Therefore, this strict policy is issued, besides to give protection towards children, SNI obligation makes children’s toy more qualified, and suitable with SNI regulation.

SNI obligation on children’s toy implementation is actually has been implemented since last 10 October 2013, but the government still gives looseness for the children’s toy producers until deadline on 30 April 2014, so until early of May the SNI obligation can be directly implemented. Besides children’s toy, government also uses SNI obligation to other products that are flooding domestic market, like electronic and textile products.

Government will prioritize SNI implementation for textile industry and children’s toy first, remembering those two sectors has been flooded foreign products. Therefore, government also facilitates Small and Middle Industry to obtain SNI that their products have value added and can compete in international market. However, how about socialization and education this time (has been done in five cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya and Batam), when there are still many local product toys distributed floods the market? It seems we, or the parent can only wait, different from the toys imported from other countries.

Meanwhile, during the wait of SNI implementation, society can understand the products that have passed test of product standard. Especially imported toys, if they are from Europe usually labeled CE and ASTM for American and Australian quality standard. Besides that, usually imported toys also displays in label or wrapping package the guide for children’s age suitable for that toy. So it is suggested by giving toys categorized for age above 15 years and for children under 14 years.

With the SNI for toys, government indirectly guarantees Indonesian children’s safety in choosing safe toys. The target is clear, for foreign toy products offered with cheap price. However not all cheap toys is not fulfilling the standard because expensive toys will be tested by government to obtain SNI certification. Government also helps some parents, who maybe there are some of them only think about how cheap the toys bought but don’t understand if the toys are safe for their children. Besides that, with the implementation of this SNI standard, government can limit the imported toys distribution (mostly found is from China) floods the market because of the cheap price, and has more proportion than local products. Hopefully, the implementation is right so this policy is able to support local toy products to be more accepted than imported toys.

Meanwhile to support the field service supervision, to filter toy ordered from abroad by large importer or personal, especially illegal, Custom General Directorate has recruited 2,200 employees (from total 5,000 needed). Children’s toy market in Indonesia is large enough. According to record of Trade Ministry, children’s toy export value until August 2013 reaches USD 60 million. Meanwhile import value is approximately USD 75 million, with China as the main importer countries. That is what’s recorded, but in reality in distributed toy market, especially imported toys, they have larger amount and not all the quality is guaranteed.

With the import tap started to be tightened up from next April, also makes many parties including the collectors or imported toy persons who are usually hunting to buy goods from abroad become worried. They worry if they buy toys for merely collection purpose, or maybe sold to some collectors also obligated to get SNI certification. However, fortunately the majority of targeted imported toys for collectors like action figures, S.I.C. (super Imaginative Chegokin), S.H.F (Simple Heroic Figure), Myth Cloth, or Gunpla turns out are not included in the list because in the label released by the producers are not for children under 14 years. For toys details that obligated to get SNI, quoted from Industrial Ministry regulation contents, can be checked here:

To give protection for Indonesian children related with safety and quality of their games, the government issues Industrial Ministry Regulation number 55/M-IND/PER/11/2013 about Industrial Ministry Regulation Amendment Number 24/M-IND/PER/4/2013 about Obligatory Toys Indonesian National Standard (SNI). The regulation is issued by government on 11 November 2013 and will be implemented on 30 April 2014. These are the kinds of toys which is obliged to fulfill SNI:

a. Related with safety, and health of toys, children’s toy must fulfill SNI ISO 8124-1:2010, SNI ISO 8124-2:2010, SNI ISO 8124-3:2010, SNI ISO 8124-4:2010, SNI IEC 62115:2011.

b. The toys kind which have to fulfill SNI with tariff post number (HS code) as follows:

1. Baby walker from metal (9 403.20.90.00) and from plastic (9 403.70.10.00).
2. Third wheeled bicycle, scooter, cars with pedals and related wheels toys, dolls train (9 503.00.10.00).
3. Dolls, elements and accessories (9 503.00.21.00, 9 503.00.22.00, and 9 503.00.29.00).
4. Electrical train, including railway, signs, other accessories (9 503.00.30.00).
5. Scaled model assemblies tools and other related recreational model, can be moved or not (9 503.00.40.10 and 9 503.00.40.90).
6. Construction tools and other constructional toys, from the materials other than plastic (9 503.00.50.00).
7. Stuffed toy resembling animal or other than human (9 503.00.60.00)
8. Puzzle from all kinds (9 503.00.70.00).
9. Block or number, letters, or animal pieces, word arranging tools, word recite and arranger tools, toy printing set, toyed counting frame (Abaci), sewing machine toy, typing machine toy (9 503.00.91.00).
10. Jump rope (9 503.00.92.00).
11. Marbles (9 503.00.93.00).

Other toys other than mentioned above which are made from all kinds of material both operated with electricity or not:

• Balloon, lifebuoy for children or other toys blown or pumped, which are made of rubber and/or plastic.
• Gun/rifle toy
• Other toys has tariff post number of 9 503.00.99.00.

If we read the regulation at glance, the one should take care of this SNI label is the producers. But practically, in writer’s observation, there are collectors or individual importers who buy toys from abroad are also observed by Custom. It is difficult, because the toys they buy via online usually has no representative in Inodnesia. Even thare are collectors who import it to resell it although they buy in small quantity, turns out are called by Custom to fulfill the SNI document requirement to release the held toys.

Although the regulation is good, but according to writer maybe it can be reviewed for the limit. If to guarantee the Indonesian children’s safety, maybe it is more suitable for toys with children under 3 years target, where in that age range the children have not yet understood about what they play, and also they still like to put the toy inside the mouth. Moreover, the era as changed, the children (even with kindergarten age or 5 to 6 years old) the toys are mostly virtual through game or application from electronic device/gadget like gadget and smartphone. If so, are the mobile devices also later be categorized as SNI certificate?

Besides that, maybe there is still policy so that the regulation does not equalize all incoming toys from abroad, but to be paid attention in detail is the toys sent using container or imported by large importers. Therefore, for individual party who buy in pieces and less frequent, usually are sent via pos does not to complete the SNI document.

Although this regulation has been implemented, and there is no review yet, from writer’s observation for the collectors which once or frequently buy toys from abroad, as long as the quantity and specification are still usual, not too big, it should not make the Custom feel necessary to hold it. With the record, it can also prove that the toys are not to be resold) sign the statement letter if you buy this thing for personal collection, not to resell).

Source: Kaskus