Government Prepares Service Fee Scheme for E-commerce
The Minister of MSMEs, Maman Abdurrahman, stated that the ministry has completed regulations regarding the protection and enhancement of the digital economy ecosystem’s competitiveness. “We are currently at the stage of awaiting promulgation by the State Secretariat,” he said at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, on Monday, 18 May 2026.
The Golkar politician noted that the Ministerial Regulation on Protection and Competitiveness Enhancement will regulate several provisions between e-commerce platforms and sellers. Maman stated that the government will standardise e-commerce cost components into three categories: registration fees, service fees, and promotion fees. He explained that currently, each marketplace uses different nomenclature for platform fees, which creates the illusion of excessive costs when it is merely a difference in terminology.
Furthermore, the regulation will mandate platforms to provide a 50 per cent discount on service fees for micro and small-scale businesses. “Micro and small enterprises are different from medium and large enterprises. They cannot be left to fight a ‘free fight’ against medium and large businesses,” he remarked. He added that during discussions with marketplaces regarding this ministerial regulation, the majority of them agreed to the policy.
Maman explained that the discount on service fees is applied because these components are fixed costs. This differs from promotional costs, for instance, which only apply to entrepreneurs participating in specific marketing programmes. However, to qualify for the service fee discount, micro and small enterprises must be registered in the SAPA UMKM system, which was developed to map and provide services to MSMEs in Indonesia.
Once effective, Maman stated that e-commerce platforms must establish one-year long-term contracts regarding any increases in platform tariffs. “They must not increase prices arbitrarily,” he said. If any tariff changes are made, platforms are required to provide three months’ notice to allow MSMEs to prepare and adjust. Maman noted that the government will allow e-commerce platforms a six-month adjustment period once the regulation takes effect. “We have been in dialogue with marketplaces and have had long discussions. As far as we understand, they do not object to this policy,” he concluded. He added that gradual sanctions will be imposed on platforms that fail to comply with the regulations.