<![CDATA[Geopolitical instability often leads to global economic uncertainty, creating financial risks for businesses engaged in import-export activities and increasing the likelihood of bankruptcy. Bankruptcy regulations are fundamentally intended to protect creditor interests and ensure that debt settlement proceeds in a fair and orderly manner. The bankruptcy petition process serves as a legal mechanism enabling either debtors or creditors to request a court declaration that a debtor is unable to fulfill matured debt obligations. In certain cases, debtors may voluntarily file for bankruptcy due to their inability to repay outstanding debts. However, the protracted nature of bankruptcy proceedings frequently results in the failure to satisfy all obligations, including customs duties owed by the debtor. This study aims to analyze this issue and propose comprehensive solutions to mitigate the risk of unpaid customs liabilities by bankrupt debtors. Employing a normative legal approach, this research examines and compares legal norms, principles, doctrines, theories, and legislation related to bankruptcy and customs. The research is descriptive-analytical in nature, utilizing secondary data analyzed qualitatively. The study concludes that inconsistencies among various legal provisions give rise to legal uncertainty, as specialized laws (lex specialis) may grant conflicting authorities. It identifies effective methods and long-term legal strategies for enforcing customs obligations against bankrupt debtors. To minimize the risks associated with uncollected customs debts, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise is authorized to take necessary enforcement actions, including executing tax collection orders and seizing debtor assets before a court-issued bankruptcy declaration. Moreover, during bankruptcy proceedings, the Directorate may issue warnings, immediate collection orders, tax collection orders, and perform asset seizures on both corporate entities and individual parties responsible for the company—such as directors, commissioners/supervisors, and shareholders—with outstanding customs obligations. In the long term, the study recommends amending the Customs Law to include export duties as part of the state's preferred claims and calls for harmonization of regulations governing customs debt collection from bankrupt business entities or their responsible officers as declared by the court.]]>
