Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Trade has issued a decree requiring foreign e-commerce firms to set up a representative office in the Southeast Asian country.

The new decree will be effective in six months from the date of issuance on May 13.

The policy will be applicable to the operators that have transactions with more than 1,000 consumers and/or have sent more than 1,000  packages to consumers in one year period.

Last year, President Joko Widodo signed a governmental regulation concerning trade via electronic systems or e-commerce platforms.

According to the regulation, foreign business operators who actively bid and conduct electronic trading to consumers domiciled in Indonesian jurisdiction who meet certain criteria, for example, the number of transactions, transaction value, number of shipping packages, and the number of traffic or accessors, are considered to meet physical presence in Indonesia.

Foreign e-commerce firms are required to have, include, or convey the identity of a clear legal subject and meet the provisions of the laws and regulations in export and import as well as information and electronic transactions.

In addition, in conducting transactions, these business actors are obliged to assist government programmes, among others, prioritising trade in goods and domestic products.

They are also required to use Indonesian high-level domain names (.id) for Electronic Systems in the form of internet sites and store data and information related to financial transactions for a minimum period of 10 years./.