JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Deputy for Law and Dispute Resolution at\nthe Government Goods\/Services Procurement Policy Agency (LKPP), Setya\nBudi Arijanta, has affirmed that manufacturers are permitted to sell\ndirectly to the government in the procurement of goods and services.<\/p>\n
Setya made this statement when asked for his opinion as an expert\nwitness in the continuation of the trial for the alleged corruption case\nregarding the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops within the\nMinistry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology\n(Kemendikbudristek).<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment Regulation (PP) on Trade Implementation, PP number 29 of\n2021, does indeed have an article stating that manufacturers may not\nsell directly to consumers. Yes, that\u2019s correct. However, the subsequent\nparagraph provides an exception: this prohibition does not apply to\ngovernment procurement,\u201d Setya said during the hearing at the Jakarta\nCorruption Court, Thursday (2\/4\/2026).<\/p>\n
He cited as an example a procurement where negotiations were\nconducted directly with the manufacturer at the factory, namely for\ninteractive flat panels (IFP), or smartboards, as proposed by President\nPrabowo Subianto.<\/p>\n
He mentioned that the state requires around 300,000 smartboard units,\nnecessitating his involvement in the negotiation process up to the\nmanufacturer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re buying 300,000 units, you go straight to the factory. The\nprice drops significantly. Earlier, I proved that Rp 100 million became\nRp 26 million. The President was shaking his head yesterday. How is that\npossible? (said Prabowo),\u201d Setya stated.<\/p>\n
He also emphasised the importance of conducting market surveys to\ncheck prices.<\/p>\n
According to Setya, many procurement officials fail to carry out\nmarket surveys and instead directly negotiate based on prices displayed\nin the e-catalogue.<\/p>\n
However, the e-catalogue shows prices from resellers, who are several\nlevels removed in the product sales supply chain.<\/p>\n
\u201cFriends, they never do market surveys; they just negotiate with\nwhat\u2019s shown in the catalogue, sir. That\u2019s the reseller. Resellers are\nat level five. From manufacturer to reseller, there are five levels,\u201d\nSetya said.<\/p>\n
Based on LKPP calculations, from the manufacturer to the second-level\nseller and beyond, there needs to be a price increase of 11.5 percent\nper level.<\/p>\n
When taxes are added, this figure can reach 21.5 percent, meaning\nthat negotiating prices with resellers can lead to overpricing.<\/p>\n
Setya also touched on the reason why manufacturers are reluctant to\nnegotiate prices, as many only hold the Indonesian Standard Industrial\nClassification (KBLI) for manufacturers.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, procurement officials set rules that negotiations can only\nbe conducted with KBLI for resellers.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chromebook-hearing-lkpp-deputy-affirms-direct-procurement-negotiations-with-manufacturers-allowed-1775119858", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }