Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry imposed a ban on sale of the iPhone 16 line after Apple failed to obtain certification confirming the use of locally manufactured device components.

In a statement, ministry representative Febri Hendri Antoni Arief explained Apple’s latest smartphone did not meet a requirement to use at least 40 per cent local parts.

As a result, Apple’s Indonesian business “has not fulfilled its investment commitments” to secure a “local content certification”.

To this point, Arief said the iPhone 16 brought to Indonesia by “registered importers” cannot be legally marketed in the country.

The ministry revealed 9,000 units of iPhone 16 entered Indonesia through travellers since its official launch date, but warned any trade of the smartphone will be illegal.

Financial Times (FT) reported the Indonesian ministry recently claimed Apple has committed to invest IDR1.7 trillion ($108 million) in the country, but only invested IDR1.5 trillion so far.

The ministry pointed out Apple’s local investment was relatively small compared to the sales of its products in Indonesia.

However, following a meeting with the Indonesian government in April, Apple CEO Tim Cook told news outlets the country is a “great place to invest” and the company would look at the potential of manufacturing devices locally.