MSME Minister Urges Marketplaces to Avoid Arbitrary Fee Increases

The Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Maman Abdurrahman, has requested that marketplaces refrain from arbitrarily increasing service fees, as such moves could potentially jeopardise the sustainability of micro and small enterprises.

According to Maman, MSME players generally prepare business plans that include production costs and cash flow projections for specific periods. Sudden increases in costs are seen as capable of undermining these calculations.

“For example, if I am a micro-entrepreneur, I have certainly prepared a cash flow claim for one year. I have my production costs, my overhead costs, and so on. If, before even a year has passed, the price increases, it will certainly disrupt the cash flow of our fellow sellers,” he stated following a working meeting with Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Monday.

To address this, the Ministry of MSMEs is currently preparing a Ministerial Regulation on the Protection and Enhancement of MSME Competitiveness, which includes provisions regarding notifications for service fee increases. Under this proposed regulation, marketplaces and sellers would be required to establish long-term cooperation contracts of at least one year, ensuring that cost components are certain from the outset and cannot be changed unilaterally.

Furthermore, if a marketplace intends to adjust its fees, they would be required to provide notice at least three months in advance. Maman noted that this provision is intended to allow MSME players sufficient time to adjust their business planning.

He emphasised that this policy is not intended to regulate platform tariffs, but rather to ensure protection for MSMEs in accordance with the mandate of Government Regulation Number 7 of 2021 concerning the ease, protection, and empowerment of cooperatives and MSMEs.

“Because we know that the authority over tariffs does not lie with us. However, we want to ensure that our brothers and sisters, the micro and small entrepreneurs who wish to grow, are protected,” he said.

Maman mentioned that the regulation has now completed the inter-ministerial harmonisation process and will be promulgated shortly.