Fitri Novia Heriani, Andin Aditya Rahman
The
Bill on Trade that was
passed by the House of Representatives (House) on 11 February 2014 includes a number of provisions of relevance to businesses and law practitioners including those that work on matters related to e-commerce. The Bill contains a number of provisions that both expressly and implicitly regulate aspects of e-commerce. These relate to provisions initially included in Law
No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions.
Erik Satrya, Deputy Chairman of Commission VI at the House, says that the e-commerce provisions under the Bill, apply to both domestic and foreign electronic businesses operating in Indonesia.
“Provisions on electronic trade will be applied to every online business, whether they are operating in Indonesian markets on a national or international level,” stated Erik last Tuesday.
Erik emphasizes that the main objective of the e-commerce provisions under the Bill are to provide protection for consumers when conducting electronic transactions.
“Consumer protection is our main goal in passing the Bill,” says Erik.
Similar to Erik, Bayu Krishnamurti, Deputy Minister of Trade, stated that the Bill has finally provided legal certainty to businesses and consumers in carrying out electronic transactions.
“Their interests are protected, as well as providing guidance and directions in conducting good business practices,” he explained.
According to Bayu, the Bill will provide consumers with protection from fraudulent electronic businesses. Further, the Bill also strengthens the responsibility of businesses for their business activities and transactions.
Bayu, however, did not clearly confirm whether or not the e-commerce provisions under the Bill will apply to online retail transactions that use blogs as their medium. He was also reluctant to provide comments on the taxes that may be applied to e-commerce activities by the Government.
“We will see to it later. I have not speculated to such lengths,” he concluded.
(hot/kc)