This August, the government has introduced several noteworthy regulations. For example, in connection to growth within the e-commerce sector, the Ministry of Communication and Information has issued the Draft Regulation on the Provision of Application Services and/or Contents through the Internet. The Draft Regulation outlines several provisions which relate to so-called Over-the-Top registrations, as well as to the various obligations which have to be met when operating such services within Indonesia.

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.

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.

The ongoing dispute between the government and PT Freeport Indonesia has been very much in the spotlight throughout February 2017. Both parties have yet to reach an agreement regarding the conditions of the Special Mining Business Permit (Izin Usaha Pertambangan Khusus/IUPK) which was granted to Freeport in order to replace its original Contract of Work (Kontrak Karya). Freeport subsequently invoked the arbitration clause in its Contract of Work, meaning that both parties have less than four months in which to settle their dispute amicably before an arbitration forum is set up. The dispute is considered to be one of the greatest challenges currently facing Indonesia and, whatever the outcome, it will surely affect the country’s future investment climate.

Moving on to the legislative sector, the House of Representative has passed 22 new laws this year. Seven of these relate to Indonesia’s ratification of several international treaties or agreements, and three are laws concerning the national budget. As such, the House has in fact only completed 12 new laws of the 51 new laws set by the 2016 Priority Legislative Program. This is a slight improvement by the House compared to last year’s performance, in which the House passed only one of 50 laws set by the 2015 Priority Legislative Program.