Friday, July 14, 2017
One of the most controversial draft bills in Indonesian legislative history has been incorporated into the 2017 national prioritized-legislation program. Indeed, the Draft Bill on Palm Oil has now come to the attention of the general public, particularly environmental activists who argue that the bill focuses solely upon bolstering the investment climate within the palm-oil sector to the detriment of environmental protection. This edition of ILD will analyze the draft bill and elaborate upon its key provisions.
Friday, July 07, 2017
As primary powerhouses of the Indonesian economy, the country’s various State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) not only have a vital role to play in the production of critical goods and services, but also act as pioneers for business sectors which have yet to be fully engaged with by the private sector. The current legal framework for Indonesia’s BUMN, specifically Law No. 19 of 2003 on State-Owned Enterprises, has now been deemed obsolete however. As a result, the House of Representatives is currently deliberating a new Draft Bill on State-Owned Enterprises, which will update various BUMN-related issues.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Moving on to the second half of this two-parter, this edition of ILD will discuss the applicable legal frameworks which relate to access to financial information for domestic tax-enforcement purposes. These legal frameworks are based upon Perppu 1/2017 and Ministry Regulation 70/2017, as well as the currently still-under-deliberation Draft Bill on General Provisions and Procedures for Taxation.
Friday, July 21, 2017
The government has issued Presidential Regulation No. 58 of 2017 on the Amendment to Presidential Regulation No. 3 of 2016 on the Acceleration of the Implementation of Nationally Strategic Projects with the ultimate goal in mind of improving the implementation of said projects. In a nutshell, this regulation amends several provisions which address the following matters: 1) Project funding; 2) Land procurement; 3) Utilization of domestic resources; 4) Monitoring and evaluation; and 5) List of Projects.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (“Ministry”) has issued Regulation No. P.36/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/6/2017 on Registration and Notification Procedures for Hazardous and Toxic Substances. In essence, this Regulation sets out a number of provisions relating to registration and notification for hazardous and toxic substances, an area which was previously regulated under Ministry Regulation No. 2 of 2010 on the Utilization of Electronic Registration Systems for Hazardous and Toxic Substances under the Framework of the Indonesian National Single Window at the Ministry of the Environment.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The House of Representatives has finally passed the Bill on Architects, with the objective of extending legal protection not only to architects but also to their clients. The Bill consists of 45 articles which cover the following matters: scope of architect’s services, registrations and licenses, foreign architects, the rights and obligations of architects, the rights and obligations of architects’ service users, professional architects’ organizations, architects’ development and administrative sanctions.
Friday, June 30, 2017
This month, the disclosure of financial information for tax purposes is in the spotlight once again as a result of the issuance of Ministry of Finance Regulation No. 73/PMK.03/2017 on the Amendment to Ministry Regulation No. 70/PMK.03/2017 on Technical Guidelines for Access to Financial Information for Taxation Purposes. This amendment has been issued owing to public concerns regarding the minimum threshold for financial-account disclosure.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
This month, public attention has also been focused upon the enactment of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2017 on Access to Financial Information for Tax Purposes. This regulation has been issued in order to accommodate the international taxation disclosure practice known as the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI). Under the regulation, financial-service institutions are required to submit reports on certain types of customers or accounts to the Directorate General of Tax. Through such a reporting regime, the hope is that tax-compliance levels can be improved, while tax avoidance and evasion are ultimately reduced. The Minister of Finance is expected to issue several implementing regulations for this main regulation.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Finally, after a long and exhausting election season, the people have made their decision. Jakartans will have a new governor after challengers Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno defeated the incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat in the recent Jakarta gubernatorial election. The winning couple has revealed details of their future plans for the capital city, following their inauguration which will take place in October, including the eagerly anticipated zero down-payment housing program, as well as an entrepreneurship mentoring program for micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (UMKM) which goes by the catchy name of OK-OCE. It is hoped that the new governor will be able to bring a breath of fresh air to the Indonesian capital’s business sector.
