Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have applied for a license to operate as social commerce platforms in Indonesia, director general of domestic trade at the Trade Ministry, Isy Karim, said in an interview with Antara News on Tuesday (31/10/23.)
The three platforms are currently registered as web portals and social media platforms and have not yet obtained permission for social commerce, he added.
The Meta platforms recently applied for licensing to operate as social commerce platforms, under which they will be able to conduct promotional activities, but not trade transactions, report Antara News.
“They are applying for social commerce (permits); just for promotion, no transactions. It has already been filed, but there are some documents that must be completed,” Karim said, adding that TikTok has not yet applied for a license to operate as an e-commerce platform. He also dismissed rumors that the platform will return as TikTok Shop in November 2023.
“TikTok until now has not (applied for an e-commerce license) yet. There will be no (TikTok Shop launch) yet,” he said.
Antara News report that Karim emphasized that any platform that conducts trade transactions digitally in Indonesia must obtain a license for e-commerce since any company or platform that records transactions in the country is required to have a license as a PT or private company and have a taxpayer identification number (NPWP).
“The application can be completed in two-three days, as it is all conducted online and as long as the requirements are met. If one wants to be e-commerce, they must be an entity in the country, and (be established) as PT and have NPWP,” Karim said.
The separation between e-commerce, social commerce, and social media platforms has been outlined in the Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 31 of 2023 on Provisions on Business Licensing, Advertisement, Development, and Supervision of Business Actors in Electronic Systems Trading, say Antara News.
Source: Antara News
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