Trade Ministry Regulation 19/2026 Strengthens MSME Protection in Digital Trade

The government has issued Trade Ministerial Regulation (Permendag) Number 19 of 2026 to strengthen protections for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and create a fairer and more transparent digital trade ecosystem. Kurnia Ramadhana, Deputy for Partnership and Media Relations at the Government Communication Agency (Bakom), stated in Jakarta on Wednesday that the regulation was issued to protect business actors while strengthening the competitiveness of domestic products through the structuring of the digital trade ecosystem. “Through this Trade Ministerial Regulation, the government seeks to balance two main interests, namely ensuring business actors’ compliance with regulations while maintaining space for MSMEs to grow and compete fairly in the national digital trade ecosystem,” he said. The regulation requires online merchants selling on marketplaces to possess a Business Identification Number (NIB). Additionally, marketplace platforms are required to provide transparency regarding service fees and promotional policies, as well as to encourage the sale of domestic products. Kurnia explained that the obligation to have an NIB is not a new rule for e-commerce business actors. According to him, the regulation strengthens the implementation of and compliance with existing provisions in electronic trading. He said that NIB ownership provides legal certainty for business actors, increases consumer trust, and opens access to financing, government programmes, and business development opportunities. Kurnia added that the policy aims to provide a safe space for MSMEs amidst the rapid growth of electronic trading. Based on Statistics Indonesia’s (BPS) E-Commerce Statistics, the number of e-commerce businesses in Indonesia reached 4.4 million in 2024, an increase of 15.3 per cent compared to the previous year. As many as 42.02 per cent of national business actors have conducted online sales. BPS data also shows that around 97.38 per cent of e-commerce businesses are micro and small enterprises, although their distribution is still concentrated in Java. “NIB ownership is not only the fulfilment of an administrative obligation, but also opens up opportunities to obtain various benefits, including access to financing and government programmes, business partnerships, and market development opportunities,” Kurnia said.