OJK: Levies Will Still Be Collected

 
Fathan Qorib, Yanuar Pribadhie
 
Despite the fact that Law No. 21 of 2011 on the Financial Services Authority (OJK Law) is currently being reviewed at the Constitutional Court, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has said that it will still be collecting levies from the financial service providers that must pay them including those in the banking sector.
 
Nelson Tampubolon, OJK’s Chief of Banking Executive Supervision, has affirmed that the judicial review does not affect the implementation of Government Regulation No. 11 of 2014 on OJK Levies.
 
“Regardless of the process, the levies must still be collected as this has been mandated under the Government Regulation. We will not stop,” said Nelson.
 
The levies that must be paid by the banking industry will be collected gradually in stages. For 2014, the levies imposed amount to 0.03% of the assets held by an entity. Next year, the levies will increase to 0.045 % of the asset base. Nelson believes that fees at this level are reasonable and appropriate.
 
The judicial review itself was lodged last month with the Constitutional Court by an applicant called the National Economic Sovereignty Defense Team (Tim Pembela Kedaulatan Ekonomi Bangsa).
 
They are arguing that the OJK Law is unconstitutional for a number of reasons including that the 1945 Constitution grants authority over banking supervision to the central bank or Bank Indonesia (BI) and not the OJK.
 
The Applicant has asked the Constitutional Court to revoke Article 1 (1) of the OJK Law which acts as the fundamental pillar for the establishment of the OJK.
 
In addition, the Applicant is also asserting that Articles 5 and 37 of the OJK Law violate the 1945 Constitution. Article 5 concerns OJK function to supervise all activities in the various financial services sectors. Ahmad Suryono, a member of the Applicant, argues that this overwhelming integration will potentially cause moral hazards.
 
Meanwhile, according to Ahmad, Article 37 which concerns OJK levies, raises issues as to how to account for the levies in the state’s budget.
 
Responding to the petition, OJK’s Chairman Muliaman Hadad stated that the OJK will coordinate with the Government. However, Muliaman has been reluctant to give any comment on the merits of the case.
 
“The OJK Law is a joint legislation by the Government and the House of Representative to protect the financial services sector in Indonesia. We need to have further discussions on this petition with the Government,” said Muliaman.
 
(hot/kc)