QAPLO (Jakarta) – Minister of Trade Budi Santoso has confirmed that the revision of Trade Minister Regulation (Permendag) Number 31 of 2023 concerning the digital trade ecosystem will not overlap with regulations currently being drafted by the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). According to Budi, coordination between the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of MSMEs has been ongoing since the early stages of policy discussions to ensure that the resulting regulations complement each other. “We have been communicating with the Ministry of MSMEs from the beginning. So if there are new regulations from the Ministry of MSMEs, they will complement each other,” Budi said in Jakarta on Sunday. He explained that the revision of Permendag No. 31 of 2023 aims to strengthen protection for local products, including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), while also improving consumer protection within the digital trade ecosystem. In addition, the new regulation will also prioritize the promotion of local products on e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, giving MSME players greater opportunities to compete in the digital market. On the other hand, the Ministry of MSMEs is also currently preparing specific regulations that will govern administrative fees on e-commerce platforms. Minister of MSMEs Maman Abdurrahman previously stated that the regulation is still in the synchronization stage with several related ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Law, and the State Secretariat. The policy discussions emerged after many MSME actors complained about high administrative and logistics fees imposed by digital trading platforms. “We want this digital trade ecosystem to truly benefit the public and business actors, so the regulations being made can complement each other,” Budi said. Furthermore, the Trade Minister ensured that the revision of Permendag No. 31 of 2023 is targeted to be completed soon. “As soon as possible. Hopefully it will be finished this month. Whether the launch will coincide with the Ministry of MSMEs regulation is still uncertain, but the process is continuing together because communication is ongoing,” he added. Previously, Minister of MSMEs Maman Abdurrahman revealed that his ministry had received numerous complaints from micro and small business actors regarding high commission fees charged by e-commerce platforms. “The complaints are quite many. Almost every day I receive reports, whether through Instagram DMs, Facebook, or WhatsApp. The government must respond to this issue,” Maman said in Jakarta on Monday (April 27). These administrative fees refer to transaction commissions charged by digital platforms to sellers every time a product is sold. According to MSME players, these increasing fees are seen as a burden on their businesses because they reduce profit margins and lower competitiveness in an increasingly competitive digital market.
