Trade Minister to draft new Permendag as Special Export State-Owned Enterprise is formed

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) is preparing a new Ministerial Regulation (Permendag) governing the technical aspects of exports for three strategic commodities. The commodities in question include crude palm oil (CPO), coal, and ferro alloys. ‘Yes, automatically (the new Permendag). This must be finished today. It must be finished today; it is to be completed today (or at the latest tomorrow), but technically today it must be completed,’ said Trade Minister Budi Santoso when approached at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Jakarta, on Thursday. However, the minister did not spell out the contents of the rule. He explained only that the Permendag will regulate export mechanisms for the three commodities in line with the formation of PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI) as a state-owned enterprise (BUMN) dedicated to export. The government previously established PT DSI as a company with a special mandate to manage and supervise export transactions of strategic natural resource commodities. DSI will operate in two stages. In the first stage, from 1 June to 31 December 2026, DSI will act as an assessor and intermediary between sellers and buyers of certain export commodities. Subsequently, from January 2027, DSI will transform into a trading company that buys commodities directly from exporters, holds the goods, and bears trading risk before selling them to international markets. Proceeds from the sale of these commodities will be received in foreign currencies corresponding to the destination country, while continuing to follow prevailing international trade practices. The funds from these sales will be returned to Indonesia in full. The formation of DSI is underpinned by ongoing concerns about under invoicing and transfer pricing in several Indonesian export commodities over many years. The government believes these practices negatively affect state revenue, including taxation, royalties, foreign exchange earnings, and the validity of national trade data.