Indonesia's halal certification deadline is coming. Can its digital backbone hold?

In Indonesia, halal certification isn’t just a consumer safeguard, but a competitive advantage for businesses to build trust and access wider markets. 

Overseeing this process is the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), the government body tasked with managing the country’s halal certification process.

Through its digital platform, SiHalal, BPJPH oversees the entire certification journey, from application submission to certificate issuance. 

The agency’s role becomes even more critical from October 18, 2026, onwards, when mandatory halal certification comes into force for a wider range of products sold in Indonesia.  

The policy is expected to affect millions of businesses, from large corporations to micro and small enterprises (MSEs). 

Against the prospect of a significant surge in applications, one question looms large: Can the government’s digital infrastructure support halal certification at national scale? 

In an interview with GovInsider, Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH)’s Head of Data and Information Technology, Nurhanudin, explains how the agency is preparing SiHalal through system scalability upgrades, AI adoption, streamlined administrative processes, and stronger cyber security measures.

Improving system scalability 

Imagine millions of businesses accessing the same platform simultaneously as the certification deadline approaches, which is a scenario that has caused similar systems elsewhere to grind to a halt. 

This challenge is one of the key reasons BPJPH decided to redesign SiHalal’s architecture, moving away from a monolithic structure towards a microservices approach. 

“With a microservices architecture, service functions no longer depend on a single large application, but are separated into more specialised services,” says Nurhanudin. 

As a result, processes such as registration, document uploads, data validation, inspections, and certificate issuance no longer rely on a single system component. 

The approach offers significantly greater flexibility during periods of heavy traffic. 

If application volumes increase sharply at a particular stage, such as during registration, BPJPH can scale only that specific service without needing to expand the entire system. 

Likewise, disruptions affecting one component will not bring down the entire platform. 

To improve resilience, BPJPH has also implemented load balancing, database optimisation, caching, real-time monitoring, and backup and recovery mechanisms. 

Nevertheless, the agency remains mindful of external risks that could disrupt services. 

“No digital system is entirely free from the risk of disruption, particularly cyber-attacks,” he says, adding that BPJPH has established mitigation procedures and cross-agency coordination mechanisms to ensure services can be restored quickly when incident occurs. 

AI takes on administrative work, not halal decisions 

One of the most significant upgrades to SiHalal is the integration of AI and machine learning into the document verification process. 

However, Nurhanudin emphasises that the technology is not intended to replace human decision-makers.  

“Authority over halal determination remains with verifiers, facilitators, auditors, and the Fatwa Committee,” he notes.  

According to him, AI is primarily used for repetitive, time-consuming tasks involving large volumes of documents.  

The technology automatically conducts preliminary checks on document completeness, matches ingredient information against available references, detects inconsistencies, and provides faster notifications for applicants requiring corrections. 

“The most tangible benefit of AI is accelerating the pre-verification process. Better-organised submissions reduce the amount of manual correction required,” he explains. 

To support users who may be unfamiliar with digital services, BPJPH is also developing an AI-powered chatbot called “Lapor BABE”.  

The virtual assistant is designed to provide guidance on common questions, such as required documents, incomplete submissions, and next steps in the application process, without requiring users to contact support officers directly. 

The platform’s user interface and user experience (UI/UX) have also been designed to be intuitive and accessible, particularly for small business owners using digital services for the first time. 

Simplifying bureaucratic processes  

Nurhanudin highlights that a common complaint that businesses have about government services is the need to repeatedly enter the same information.  

To address this issue, BPJPH has integrated SiHalal with the Online Single Submission (OSS) platform managed by Indonesia’s Ministry of Investment. 

“Data already available within the OSS system can be reused in accordance with existing regulations, meaning businesses do not have to repeatedly submit the same information,” says Nurhanudin. 

The benefits are particularly evident in the self-declare scheme, which is designed specifically for MSEs and forms the backbone of the government’s halal certification programme. 

By reducing manual data entry, administrative errors can be minimised and verification processes can be completed more quickly, he adds. 

Maintaining public trust  

With millions of businesses storing administrative and product-related information on the platform, system security has become a critical priority.  

To protect this data, BPJPH has implemented layered security measures, including role-based access controls, audit trails, and system logging. 

The agency also works closely with Indonesia’s National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) to strengthen cyber security capabilities, detect threats, and implement electronic certification mechanisms. 

At the same time, BPJPH has developed a range of contingency measures to prepare for infrastructure disruptions, including routine backups, database recovery procedures, prioritisation of critical services, performance monitoring, and activation of a disaster recovery centre when necessary. 

“In the event of a disruption, our primary priorities are maintaining data integrity, ensuring no application data is lost, restoring core services as quickly as possible, and communicating with users through BPJPH’s official channels,” says Nurhanudin.