Trade Minister Gives Sneak Peek on New E-commerce Rules, This is the Fate of Indonesia's SMEs
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Trade Minister Budi Santoso has assured that the revision of Trade Ministerial Regulation (Permendag) No. 31 of 2023 to reorganise trade through electronic systems (PMSE) or e-commerce will not overlap with the SME regulations currently being drafted by the Ministry of SMEs.
Budi stated that the regulation being prepared by the Ministry of Trade will instead complement the policies being developed by SME Minister Maman Abdurrahman, as their scopes of regulation differ.
When asked if the output of the revision to Permendag 31/2023 would be the same as the SME regulations being drafted, Budi emphasised that the two are different but will run in tandem.
“Yes, different. But complementary. We always coordinate with Mr Minister (SMEs),” Budi said when met at Palmerah Market, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday (13/5/2026).
He then revealed that the revision to Permendag 31/2023 is now in the finalisation stage and is targeted to be completed soon.
“Now, the Ministry of Trade is revising the Permendag on PMSE. It’s now in finalisation, hopefully finished next week,” he said.
The revision to the Permendag, he said, will regulate the overall implementation of the e-commerce ecosystem. The government sees three main parties as the focus of the regulation: sellers or seller, digital platforms, and consumers.
“Yes, so we are regulating the implementation of PMSE or the e-commerce ecosystem. Of course, we look at three things that must be considered in that ecosystem. First is the seller, then the platform, and third is the consumer. From those three, there are several things we are changing,” Budi said.
One of the points being revised is the transparency of platforms regarding fees charged to sellers.
“The first is transparency. So platforms must be transparent in imposing fees, admin fees, or any fees. That must be transparent and there must be an agreement that can be downloaded on that platform,” he explained.
In addition, e-commerce platforms will be required to prioritise the promotion of domestic products, including SME products.
“The second, platforms must prioritise domestic products for promotion, including SME products,” Budi said.
The revision of the regulation also includes the obligation to provide complaint services with a Service Level Agreement (SLA) or clear handling time standards, to protect consumers as well as sellers.
“Then platforms must also provide complaint services. Complaint services with clear SLA. Yes, so that’s to protect consumers and also to protect sellers,” he said.
According to him, the complaint mechanism will apply two-way so that issues between sellers, platforms, and consumers can be resolved transparently.
“So complaints can go both ways. If there are problems, they can also be resolved. Everything is transparent, including resolution with consumers. So everything must be equal. Sellers and platforms must be equal. They have respective rights and obligations, and consumers must also be protected,” he concluded.