After more than 20 years enforcing the Anti-Monopoly Law (Law No. 5 of 1999 on the Prohibition of Monopolistic and Unfair Business Practices), KPPU – the Indonesian Competition Commission – having experienced the highs and lows of investigating a wide range of anticompetitive behavior, issued KPPU Chairman Regulation No. 2 of 2023 on Guidelines for Assessing Negative Impact from Monopolistic and Unfair Business Practices.
The Indonesian Competition Commission (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU)) issued KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2023 on Merger Filing Procedures, which replaced KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2019 on the same matter. The New Merger Control Regulation became effective as of 31 March 2023, and it regulates administrative, procedural and substantive aspects of merger control. All filings from April 2023 onwards will be subject to the New Merger Control Regulation, including for transactions that had closed before 31 March 2023 but had not been filed. In addition, a new Governmental Regulation No. 20 of 2023 on Non-Tax Revenue Applicable to KPPU was also issued on 5 April 2023 and effective as of 5 May 2023 regulating that merger filings will be subject to a filing fee.
On Friday 31 March 2023, the Indonesian Competition Commission (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha or KPPU) enacted the KPPU Regulation No. 2 of 2023 on Procedure for Case Handling. With a newly issued KPPU Regulation No. 6 of 2023 officially repealing the 2019 regulation, the New Case Handling Regulation introduced several breakthroughs including integrating the use of technology, option to enter change of behavior commitment during investigations, and an expedited examination procedure.
The Chairman of the Indonesian Competition Commission (KPPU) has issued two new regulations. The first is on a new approach to defining relevant market, with the aim of addressing dual and multi-sided markets in the digital economy (KPPU Chairman Regulation No. 4 of 2022). The second is on criteria and requirements for paying administrative fines by instalments (KPPU Chairman Regulation No. 1 of 2023). Introducing a legal instrument through a KPPU Chairman Regulation – which arguably should not be binding on parties beyond KPPU itself – is unprecedented, and we may see these two KPPU Chairman regulations challenged in the future.
On Monday 27 March 2023, the Indonesian Competition Commission (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha, (KPPU)) sought input from stakeholders on its plan to overhaul the current merger control rules. KPPU is proposing to replace KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2019 on Merger Filing Procedures. Key changes include the introduction of an electronic portal, narrowing the definition of assets for the calculation of asset thresholds to Indonesian assets only, and introducing three exits for transactions without competition concerns.
In 2019, the Indonesian Competition Commission (KPPU) issued a regulation that asserted that KPPU has the authority to review acquisitions of assets, not just acquisitions of shares. Since then, hundreds of acquisitions of asset transactions have been notified to KPPU. KPPU’s concepts of “assets” and their “acquisition” under this regulation are very broad.
The Government of Indonesia issued Government Regulation in lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation on 30 December 2022 (“Job Creation GRL”). This opens the second act of the Omnibus Law following the scrutiny by the Constitutional Court of the formalities in the creation of the original Job Creation Law which was issued in 2020. Content-wise, the 1,117-page Job Creation GRL is a non-identical twin sibling of the original Job Creation Law with substantive changes on halal certification, employment, taxation, and regional government as well as some non-substantive changes in other sectors such as water resources.
KPPU, the Indonesian competition authority, issued 15 decisions this year, a decline from 23 decisions in 2021. Late merger filing cases still account for the majority of decisions, followed by small and micro enterprises partnership cases. The increasing number of SME partnership cases suggests closer scrutiny by KPPU of partnerships between big and medium corporations and SMEs, which is in line with KPPU’s priorities as the pandemic subsides.
The Digital Markets Act (EU Regulation 2022/1925) came into force on 1 November 2022, with the aim of promoting fair business practices in the digital industry in Europe. While the DMA itself may have no direct implication for Indonesia, the KPPU – Indonesia’s competition authority – often refers to developments and thought-leadership on enforcement from other prominent jurisdictions, including the EU. Digital businesses operating in Indonesia may use the DMA as a navigation tool, and clients may find the practical risk mitigation tips useful.
Detecting rigged bids once dominated the workload of KPPU, and while that may no longer be the case, the number of bid-rigging cases being handled by the KPPU at any given time remains relatively high. Recent enforcement cases have focused on construction and public procurement projects. Through these cases, KPPU has proven that it is adept in the area of technology – scrutinizing metadata and IP addresses of defendants to uncover evidence of collusion. Colluding to rig bids is an Article 22 violation under the Indonesian Competition Law, for which KPPU may impose a fine of IDR 1 billion or more.