Indonesia New Regulation on E-Commerce

Indonesia Government has finally enacted the awaited regulation regarding e-commerce on 25 November 2019 through Government Regulation No. 80 of 2019 concerning Trade through Electronic System (“GR 80/2019”). This regulation is mandated by Article 66 Law No. 7 of 2014 concerning Trade (Law 7/2014).

Main Keys of GR 80/2019: We note some important stipulations on the PR 80/2019 are as follows:

Parties on E-commerce Activities: We note that the GR 80/2019 defined 4 (four) types of party that may engage in e-commerce activities, which are: (a) business practitioners; (b) consumers; (c) non-business individuals; and (d) government agencies.

The e-commerce business practitioners further categorized into the following:

No
Obligation
Remark

1

Merchants

Merchants consift of any individuals or business entities which conduct electronic offering through their own electronic systems or facilities provided by other e-commerce organizers.

Note : Merchants which sell their goods/services on a temporary basis for non-commercial purposes are excluded from the GR 80/2019.

2

E-commerce Organizer

E-commerce organizer consists of any individual, business entity (both local and foreign) or a government agency which provides facilitate of any e-commerce transactions, including:

  1. Online retailing
  2. Marketplaces
  3. Online classified advertisements
  4. Price comparison platforms and
  5. Daily deals.

Further, any e-commerce organizers are required to obtained electronic system feasibility certificates (sertifikat kelaikan) prior to performing its service.

Note: We further note that a Foreign e-commerce organizer which located outside Indonesia is deemed to meet a physical presence in Indonesia is subjected to this regulation if they have fulfilled the following criteria: a) Transaction volumes; b) Transaction values; c) Volumes of packages to be shipped; and/or d) Volumes of traffic or people who access overseas business practitioners. (Art 7 (2) and (3) GR 80/2019)

3

Intermediary Service Organizer

Intermediary service organizer consists of any individuals or business entities that provide search engine services, permanent information storage space (hosting) services and temporary information storage space (caching) services.

E-commerce Principles: We further note that GR 80/2019 require every parties which are engaged in any e-commerce activities to uphold the 7 (seven) principles which are: a) good faith; b) prudence; c) transparency; d) trustworthiness; e) accountability; f) parities; and g) fair play (Art. 3 GR 80/2019).

Obligation of E-commerce Business Practitioners: We note that the GR 80/2019 stipulate certain general obligations that need to be fulfilled by any e-commerce business practitioners prior to performing its business in Indonesia which are the following:  

No
Obligation
Remark

1

Obtaining Business License

Business practitioners are required to obtain business license through the Online System Submission (OSS) System. (Art. 15 (1) and (3) GR 80/2019)

Note: Such obligations are excluded to Intermediary Service Organizer which are: a) not the direct beneficiaries of e-commerce transaction; or b) not directly involved in any contractual relationship between parties of such e-commerce activity. (Art 15 (2) GR 80/2019)

2

Providing valid, clear and truthful information

Any business practitioners are obligated to provide valid, clear and truthful  information on the following:

  1. Identities of any legal subjects involved
  2. Conditions and guarantees towards the traded goods/services, such as: legality, consumption feasibility, quality and price, etc. (Art 13 (1) and (2) GR 80/2019).

3

Complying to the prevailing laws and regulations

Any business practitioners are required to be in compliance with Indonesia prevailing laws and regulations, including the fair business competition and advertising ethical standards.

Consumers Rights Protection: We further note that the PR 80/2019 requires all e-commerce business practitioners to protect the consumers’ rights. GR 80/2019 stipulated that the availability of consumers’ complaint is mandatory which at least covers the following:

  1. Available address and contact number to make complaint;
  2. Clear consumer complaint procedure;
  3. Complaint-follow up mechanism;
  4. Officials who are competent to process complaints; and
  5. Timeframe for resolve such complaint. (Art. 26 and Art. 27 GR 80/2019):

Further, we note that consumers may also report their losses/damages due to e-commerce activities to the Minister of Trade. Any business practitioners which are reported are obligated to settle the report, otherwise they will be admitted on the priority supervision list which is open and accessible for public (Art. 18 GR 80/2019).

 


The article above was prepared by Marshall S. Situmorang (Partner) and Aniendita Rahmawati (Associate).

Disclaimer: The information herein is of general nature and should not be treated as legal advice, nor shall it be relied upon by any party for any circumstance. Specific legal advice should be sought by interested parties to address their particular circumstances. For more information, please contact us at mail@nusantaralegal.com.