16 Jul 2018
BKPM to Continue PTSP Role despite New Online Single Submission

BKPM issued an announcement on Tuesday, 10 July 2018, stating that it will continue its service in its role as the operator of the so called Central PTSP (Pelayanan Terpadu Satu Pintu Pusat – Central One Door Policy). Previously on Friday, 29 June 2018, BKPM issued a press release stating that all submissions to BKPM received before and after Friday, 29 June 2018, would be forwarded to and processed by the new Online Single Submission (OSS), with the exception of some licenses that may be further processed and issued by the BKPM.

With the announcement on Tuesday, it is now clear which licenses and permits will still be issued by BKPM. The announcement provided a list of the business licenses which are not to be issued under OSS, which includes licenses within the sectors of energy & natural resources and public housing. In addition, BKPM can still issue certain finance and tax related permits regarding imports and tax & holiday allowances. The BKPM will also continue to process and issue the Foreign Business Representative Office (Kantor Perwakilan Perusahaan Asing) license for businesses other than oil & gas, trading, and construction.

Please see a copy of the announcement letter and the schedule providing the complete details of the licenses and permits to be processed by the BKPM and not regulated under the new OSS.

Aside from the business licenses and certain tax and finance related permits, BKPM will also continue in its role as Central PTSP. This role means that BKPM can still accept and facilitate any information request in relation to specific investment policies in certain business sectors, and to coordinate any process that requires the involvement of regional PTSPs and other governmental bodies in Indonesia. The announcement also introduces new responsibilities of BKPM to assist with any information queries in relation to OSS and the procedures of business application via OSS.

Conclusion

Some of our previous questions in relation to the role of BKPM in lieu of the transition to OSS have now been answered, in that (i) the types of licenses and permits that can still be processed by BKPM have now been identified, and (ii) it has been confirmed that all existing applications made to BKPM prior to Friday, 29 June 2018 that have not been mentioned in the announcement will indeed be processed by OSS.

However, there are still some unanswered questions in respect of this transition to OSS, which would be appropriate for OSS to address. One of which is whether the BKPM regulations applicable to existing foreign direct investment companies will still need to be complied with, or instead, whether these existing foreign direct investment companies will need to adhere to the new business license regime under OSS first, in order for their currently pending applications to be processed by OSS.

One can’t help but want further clarification and guidance from both OSS and BKPM regarding the existing business applications that are caught by the transition. Nevertheless, we welcome BKPM’s announcement in providing some light during this transitional period.

By: Agung Ahadi Deradjat (aderadjat@abnrlaw.com) and Giffy Pardede (gpardede@abnrlaw.com)