DKI Jakarta Implements PSBB Measures to Minimize Further Spread of COVID-19 Outbreak

On April 9, 2020, the Governor of DKI Jakarta issued Regulation No. 33 of 2020 (the “Regulation”) and Decree No. 380 of 2020 (the “Decree”), both regarding the Implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions in Handling Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) in DKI Jakarta.

The Regulation and the Decree are the follow-up to the approval issued by the Minister of Health who approves the implementation of the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar – “PSBB”) in DKI Jakarta in order to minimize further the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Based on the Decree, the PSBB measures are effective as of April 10, 2020 until April 23, 2020 and may be further extended if necessary.

We set out below the key provisions of the PSBB based on the Regulation.

  • General Restrictions

During the implementation of the PSBB, everyone must implement a Clean and Healthy Behavior (Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat) and use a mask outside his or her house. In addition, the Regulation limits outdoor activities during the PSBB as follows:

  1. schools and/or educational institutions activities will be temporary suspended and replaced by learning activities through long distance learning methods;
  2. workplaces closure which means that activities at workplaces are temporarily suspended, and employers must implement the work-from-home system;
  3. religious activities in houses of worship are temporarily suspended;
  4. public places or facilities shall temporarily be closed;
  5. social and cultural activities that draw crowds are temporarily suspended; and
  6. use of modes of transportation of people and goods will be limited.
  • Workplaces Closure

As part of the implementation of the PSBB, all “non-essential” businesses are required to temporarily suspend their activities at the workplaces. The Regulation stipulates certain categories that constitute “essential” businesses which are exempted from the workplaces closure, as follows:

  1. all offices/government institutions, either central or regional;
  2. foreign country representative offices and/or international organizations carrying out diplomatic functions;
  3. state/regional-owned enterprises participating in the handling of Covid-19 and/or fulfillment of basic needs;
  4. workplaces in the following sectors:
    • health;
    • food/beverage;
    • energy;
    • communication and information technology;
    • finance;
    • logistics;
    • hospitality/hotel activities;
    • construction;
    • strategic industries;
    • basic services, public utilities and industries which are deemed certain vital national objects; and/or
    • daily needs.
  5. local and international non-governmental organizations engaging in the disaster and/or social sectors.

However, the businesses that are exempted above shall comply with the obligation to conduct the health protocols set out in the Regulation.

  • Limitation on the use of Modes of Transportation

During the implementation of the PSBB, all movement of people and/or goods are limited to the fulfillment of basic needs and activities that are permitted during the implementation of the PSBB. For ease of reference, below is the relevant limitations:

  • Criminal Sanctions

Under Law No. 6 of 2018 dated August 8, 2018 on Health Quarantines, any violation of the PSBB which causes a public health emergency may be subject to an imprisonment of up to 1 (one) year and/or a monetary fine of up to Rp100,000,000 (one hundred million Rupiah).

 

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April 13, 2020

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KSEI Introduces the Requirements and Mechanism of E-Proxy for E-GMS

On March 26, 2020, the Indonesian Financial Service Authority (“OJK”) has issued Circular Letter No. S-92/D.04/2020 dated March 18, 2020 on the Relaxation on the Report Obligation and the Implementation of General Meeting of Shareholders (“GMS”) (such letter, “OJK Letter 92/2020”) which governs, among others, the implementation of the electronic GMS (“e-GMS”). We have previously discussed such letter in our previous newsflash on OJK Letter 92/2020.

As a follow up to OJK Letter 92/2020, on April 3, 2020, the Indonesia Central Securities Depository (Kustodian Sentral Efek Indonesia or “KSEI”) issued Letter No. KSEI-4164/DIR/0420 on the Enforcement of the KSEI Electronic General Meeting System (eASY.KSEI) Facility as a Mechanism for Electronic Authorization in the Process of GMS for Issuers Which Are Public Companies Whom Shares Are Stored in the Collective Depository of KSEI (“KSEI Letter No. 4164”). In KSEI Letter No. 4164, KSEI elaborated several points related to the technical implementation of e-GMS and electronic authorization (“e-Proxy”).

Below are the key points from KSEI Letter No. 4164 on the implementation of e-GMS and e-Proxy.

  • KSEI System for E-GMS

KSEI has provided a system in order to facilitate the holding of the e-GMS under the name of “eASY.KSEI” which consists of 2 (two) stages of implementation, namely:

  1. E-Proxy, is a system that facilitates and integrates the power of attorney from the shareholders to the authorized recipients electronically; and
  2. E-Voting, is a system that facilitates the attendance and voting process of voting in a e-GMS to enable the shareholders to participate in the GMS without the need for physical presence.
  • E-Proxy Mechanism

Public Companies are required to provide alternative for the provision of power of attorney for its shareholders so that it can be carried out electronically by using e-Proxy in eASY.KSEI, with the following conditions:

  • Public Companies that intend to hold a GMS after the date of this KSEI Letter No. 4164 (April 3, 2020) with the date of GMS invitation after April 20, 2020, must note the following:
    • In the event that the GMS announcement has been made to the shareholders through a Public Company’s website, Indonesian Stock Exchange (“IDX”), or mass media before April 20, 2020 and the GMS invitation is scheduled between April 21, 2020 and May 13, 2020 – such GMS announcement that has been announced must be put into eASY.KSEI no later than 1 (one) day before the date of the said GMS announcement; and
    • In the event that the GMS announcement is made on April 20, 2020 and onwards, then a Public Company is required to input the GMS announcement into eASY.KSEI on the same day with the GMS announcement.
  • Public Companies that intend to hold a GMS after the date of this KSEI Letter No. 4164 (April 3, 2020) with the date of GMS invitation before April 20, 2020 (along with the 2nd and 3rd GMS, as applicable) are only required to use e-Proxy in the eASY.KSEI for the next GMS.
  • Required Document and Information for E-Proxy

Public Companies are required to carry out the following actions and to submit certain information and documents, in order to use eASY.KSEI:

  • Filling out and submitting the form of power of attorney/appointment of an authorized official (using the format provided in the Attachment 2 of KSEI Letter No. 4164) to update the information of the following proxies:
    • Who will represent the said Public Company in signing the Equity-Type Securities Registration Agreement between the said Public Company and KSEI including any of its amendments (categorized as Group A in the form); and
    • Who will represent the said Public Company in signing any documents, provide instructions, and carry out other activities relating to the registration of Equity-Type Securities to KSEI, the implementation of Corporate Actions of the said Public Company, as well as who will be responsible over the access to the KSEI system, including eASY.KSEI (categorized as Group B in the form).

If the individuals mentioned in the Group A in the form is the individuals appointed based on the power of attorney from the board of directors of the said Public Company, a copy of such power of attorney must be submitted to KSEI.

  • Submitting corporate deeds stipulating: (i) the latest management (board of directors and board of commissioners) composition along with its evidence of notification to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MOLHR) and (ii) the current articles of association along with the evidence of approval for its amendments by MOLHR;
  • Providing information on the nearest intended GMS including the date of the relevant GMS announcement and invitation;
  • Signing Equity-Type Securities Registration Agreement with KSEI (using the format provided in the Attachment 3 of KSEI Letter No. 4164), by the authorized individual in accordance with the power of attorney/appointment as mentioned in point (a) above;

The documents/information as mentioned in point (a) to point (d) above shall be submitted to KSEI with the following manners:

  1. Scanned documents for point (a) to point (c) shall be delivered via email to KSEI on: peksei.co.id and ubakum@ksei.co.id no later than April 17, 2020;
  2. The original document for point (a) shall be delivered to KSEI at the latest every Friday until 11:00 West Indonesian Time Zone (WIB) before the date of the RUPS, addressed to Securities Management Unit of KSEI; and
  3. For Equity-Type Securities Registration Agreement, it shall be delivered to the said Public Company in physical form, and to be signed and returned to KSEI in the form of a scanned file no later than 5 (five) business days before the said Public Company holds the relevant GMS. The physical form of the said agreement must be returned to KSEI no later than 11.00 WIB of the next Friday after the said GMS being held.

KSEI will issue a separate letter or announcement stipulating the requirements and mechanism of the use of e-Voting in eASY.KSEI system.

 

***

April 9, 2020

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Tax Policies to Brace the Impact of COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Indonesia predicts the Indonesian economic growth to only reach 4% or lower, subject to the period and severity of the pandemic in affecting or even paralyzing the economy. To anticipate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government issued the Government Regulation in lieu of Law No. 1 of 2020 dated March 31, 2020 on the State Financial and the Stability of the Financial System Policies in Relation to the Handling of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic and/or Threats that Are Potentially Harmful to the National Economy and/or the Stability of the Financial System (“Perppu 1/2020”).

Perppu 1/2020 sets out policies that may be taken by the Government to anticipate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic to the state finance. In this Newsflash, we will focus on the tax aspects under Perppu 1/2020.

Under Perppu 1/2020, the Government has the authority to stipulate state financial policies, including taxation policies. The taxation policies include the adjustment of the corporate income tax rates, tax for trade through electronic system activities, extension of period for the fulfillment of taxation rights and obligations, and customs facilities.

  • ADJUSTMENTS OF CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATE

As of 2010, under the Income Tax Law, the corporate income tax rate is stipulated at 25%. Through Perppu 1/2020, the Government lowers the income tax rates for domestic corporations and permanent establishments to be 22% for 2020 and 2021 and 20% for 2022 and the subsequent years.

A publicly-listed company that (i) trades at least 40% of its shares on the Indonesian stock exchange and (ii) meets certain criteria, is eligible for an additional 3% tax rate reduction (i.e., 19% for 2020 and 2021, and 17% for 2022 and the subsequent years). The criteria for companies that will be eligible for this lower tax rate will be further stipulated in a Government Regulation.

  • TAX TREATMENT FOR TRADE THROUGH ELECTRONIC SYSTEM

Perppu 1/2020 reaffirms the Government’s intention in imposing taxes for e-commerce transactions., This intent was reflected in the recently-issued E-Commerce Regulation.  Value-added tax (VAT) will be imposed on electronic transactions of Intangible Taxable Goods and/or Services from Outside Custom Areas into Custom Areas, while income taxes will be imposed on offshore merchants, service providers, and/or Organizers of Trade through the Electronic Systems (Penyelenggara Perdagangan Melalui Sistem Elektronik – better known as the Platform Provider) with significant economic presence in Indonesia.

Perppu 1/2020 stipulates similar certain quantitative thresholds with the E-Commerce Regulation, which, if fulfilled, will constitute the “significant economic presence” in Indonesia for offshore corporations.  The details of the procedures by which the taxes will be imposed as well as the quantitative thresholds for a significant economic presence of an offshore entity will be set forth in a Minister of Finance Regulation.

  • EXTENSION OF PERIODS FOR FULFILLMENT OF TAXATION RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

The Government extends the periods for the fulfillment of taxation rights and obligations which due dates fall during the force majeure period of the COVID-19 pandemic, as follows:

  1. due dates for the submission of objections are extended by up to six months;
  2. due dates for the refund of tax overpayment are extended by up to one month; an
  3. due dates for the implementation of taxpayer rights in the form of issuance of letters by the Director General of Tax are extended by up to six months.

The force majeure period of the COVID-19 pandemic refers to the period stipulated by the Government through the Chairman of the National Board for Disaster Management (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana or “BNPB”). As at the date of this Newsflash, the BNPB has stipulated an emergency period due to the Coronavirus as of January 28, 2020 to May 29, 2020.

  • CUSTOMS FACILITIES

Under Perppu 1/2020, the Minister of Finance has the authority to grant relief of or discount for import duties for the import of goods for the handling of COVID-19 and/or to deal with threats that are potentially harmful to the national economy and/or stability of the financial system. These facilities will be stipulated under Minister of Finance Regulation(s).

***

Perppu 1/2020 is valid as of March 31, 2020.  However, in accordance with the Constitution and applicable laws, the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or “DPR”) will decide on its next hearing whether to approve Perppu 1/2020 into a law. If the DPR decides to cancel Perppu 1/2020, then Perppu 1/2020 will immediately be cancelled.

 

April 8, 2020

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Temporary Tax Incentives for Businesses Affected by COVID-19

In anticipation of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the economic stability, productivity, and purchasing power, the Minister of Finance (the “MOF”) issued the MOF Regulation No. 23/PMK.03/2020 dated March 23, 2020 on Tax Incentives for Taxpayers Affected by the Coronavirus Outbreak (the “MOF Regulation”). The MOF Regulation sets out four types of tax incentives that may apply by certain taxpayers, as follows.

  • Income Tax Incentives for Employees

The Government will bear the Article 21 Income Tax for April to September 2020 for employees who meet the following criteria:

  1. They are employed by an employer that engages in certain manufacturing and service business lines listed in Annex A of the MOF Regulation and/or is a Company with Ease of Import for Export Purposes (Kemudahan Impor untuk Tujuan Ekspor) facility (a “KITE Company”);
  2. They have the Tax Identification Numbers (NPWP); and
  3. They have the annual gross income of maximum Rp200 million.

A relevant employer shall notify the relevant Tax Office to enjoy this incentive. The employer shall pay the Article 21 Income Tax that is borne by the Government in cash to the relevant employees.

  • Import Tax Incentives

As an incentive for taxpayers that engage in certain manufacturing business lines listed in Annex F of the MOF Regulation and/or are KITE Companies, the Government will not collect the Article 22 Income Tax for all imports up to September 2020. The relevant taxpayers shall apply for the Confirmation Letter of Non-collection of Article 22 Income Tax for Import to the relevant Tax Office. The incentive shall be granted as per the date of issuance of the Confirmation Letter.

  • Income Tax Installment Incentives

Taxpayers that engage in certain manufacturing business lines listed in Annex F of the MOF Regulation and/or are KITE Companies are also eligible for a 30% discount on their monthly Article 25 Income Tax installments. The relevant taxpayers shall notify the deducted installment amounts to the relevant Tax Office. This incentive will be granted until the tax period of September 2020.

  • Accelerated VAT Refunds

The fourth tax incentive granted under the MOF Regulation is by way of accelerated Value Added Tax (“VAT”) refunds for low risk taxable enterprises. This incentive is granted for taxpayers that (i) engage in certain manufacturing business lines listed in Annex F of the MOF Regulation or are KITE Companies; and (ii) have submitted their VAT Returns with an overpayment amount of maximum Rp5 billion. The accelerated refund will be granted for the VAT Returns submitted until the tax period of September 2020.

 

April 8, 2020

Copyright © 2020 AKSET. All rights reserved.


Data Protection and Privacy: How a Company Should Handle its Employees’ Personal Data during COVID-19 Outbreak

Many organizations in Indonesia are quickly initiating a number of initiatives  to anticipate and minimize the growth of COVID-19 outbreak as well as to ensure the health and safety of their employees. The most obvious one is work-from-home policy. The COVID-19 outbreak is putting remote work at a totally unprecedented scale.

However, remote work may not always be possible for all employees. Some organizations have rotation policy, which requires employees to take shift in between working-from-home and working-from-office. Employees in certain type of business or industries, such as hospitality businesses, bank front-liners or health care professionals that must be physically present to work. For employees that have to attend office, organizations normally have a new health assessment policy such as collecting employees’ body temperature for those who have to work on-premise as well as requiring employees to alert organization on any occurrence of the symptoms, disclosing travel records and employee’s close contact.

Unquestionably, the above measures will involve data handling activities, which most likely will also include employee’s personal data. Handling employees’ data diligently are essential for the organizations to demonstrate their commitment to comply with the prevailing regulations. In light of that, below are several notes that an organization should consider in handling their employees’ data during the COVID-19 outbreak pursuant to Indonesia’s personal data protection regime.

  • Which data constitute Personal Data?

Personal Data, in essence, is any data relating to an identified or identifiable natural person – directly or indirectly.

The scope of Personal Data includes the employees’ basic identity, such as name, gender, address, etc. This is also likely to include not-so-obvious data which may allow a person to be indirectly identified. Common examples of such data, in this case, are – including but not limited to, (i) location information, such as travel records, transportation means, live-location data; (ii) health-related data, including body’s temperature, symptomatic occurrence information; to even (iii) information about the employee’s close contacts, for instance, whether one has been in contact with infected or People under Supervision.

  • How should an organization collect the employees’ Personal Data?

First and foremost, do it with the appropriate lawful ground – considering the following:

  • An organization who intends to rely on consent may consider that one of the elements of lawful consent is “freely given”. Oftentimes, consent is considered to not be given freely in an employment relationship due to the power imbalance between the 2-sides.
  • Legitimate interest to ensure safety and health of the organization may likely be more appropriate provided that the processing is carried out proportionally and under a strict necessity basis.
  • Performance of an employment contract may be relevant under the conditions that ensuring the safety and health of the organization is stipulated in the employment contract or company regulation.
  • In an emergency, the protection of the employee’s vital interest may be the relevant ground in processing employee’s Personal Data – for instance, sharing with health professionals.

Furthermore, the organization ought to limit the collection to only Personal Data that are relevant and necessary to the purposes of the processing. If the purpose is to manage the risk and ensuring the safety and health of everyone on-premise, the organization – for instance – may go as far as collecting information about the employees’ close contacts in the last 14 (fourteen) days. However, if the purpose is to only ensure employees are complying with self-isolation policy, employer may only need to focus on collecting live-location data regularly.

Similarly, organizations shall also limit and inform the scope of the processing, i.e., analyzing, sharing, and/or disclosing, to what is proportionate with the relevant purposes.

  • What Can an Organization Do With the Collected Personal Data?

After Personal Data is collected, an organization need to further consider how to handle or process those data. For such purpose, it is important to understand the concept of  being proportionate. When the purpose of processing is to ensure the safety and health of everyone on-premise, recent travel records may be of relevancy to be collected and analyzed to determine an appropriate course of action. However, it should be noted that any different treatment to the employees shall not be discriminatory.

It is also reasonable to inform identified cases within the organization. However, as the purpose is only to keep everybody informed and aware, anything beyond anonymous information (for example, naming or identifying one individual) may likely be viewed as disproportionate and excessive – unless there is a justifying reason for such decision.

An organization may also store Personal Data for a certain period for a purpose. For example, when an organization identifies that it is necessary to store collected Personal Data for a follow-up action (e.g., to test a suspected employee after a self-isolation period).

  • To Whom and When an Organization is Allowed to Share the Collected Personal Data?

At times, Personal Data sharing may be necessary to ensure the safety and health of, not just everyone within the organization, but also for the good of the public. Information relating to identified cases within the organization might be relevant and/or required to be shared to third parties.

Indonesia has several laws and regulations relating to the prevention of infectious disease and epidemic. Such regulation may be relevant in this case as COVID-19 can be categorized as infectious disease and it has also been declared as an epidemic by World Health Organization. This regulation can serve as a legal basis for the sharing of data/information relating to any identified or suspected case of COVID-19 within the organization (which also includes the employees’ Personal Data) to the Health Authority.

Such applicable laws and regulations include the following procedures:

  • Health Authority is entitled to collect, gather, and process health data/information in order to stop the outbreak of an infectious disease.
  • An organization is obliged to report the occurrence of infectious disease within its organization to regional Health Authority.
  • The applicable regulatory framework only stipulates the timeline for an organization to report to the Health Authority, i.e., promptly within 24 (twenty four) hours upon obtaining the knowledge of any identified or suspected case of the infectious disease.

Furthermore, although the applicable regulatory framework only stipulate data sharing to health authority, it is also relevant to share such information to other third parties, such as clients/vendors or building management. This sharing activities might be necessary so that such third parties can manage risk and take necessary action to ensure its safety promptly.

As with the content, there is no provision which explicitly list down the required information to be shared. In this regard, it is important to remember to keep it under a strict necessity and proportionality basis. For instance, it might be relevant to inform clients/vendors with the name of the suspected employee(s) which recently interacted with them, so they can manage and take measurements within their organization. However, it might be excessive to provide details of the employee to building management when the purpose is only to inform identified cases. Besides, the organization shall also ensure that the receiving party will provide adequate protection towards the data.

  • Good Governance of Personal Data During the Covid-19 Outbreak

Ensure the Personal Data collected from the employees are accurate

The accuracy of data is paramount in any type of processing.  With COVID-19 outbreak, it is even more crucial to process accurate data to ensure the safety and health of everyone, in or outside of the organization.

When collecting employees’ Personal Data, an organization must ask the employees to provide accurate and valid data and information about themselves, e.g., recent travel records, honest information on close contact with an infected person. Accordingly, an organization may impose disciplinary actions if the employees refuse or provide untrue information, as appropriate in accordance with laws and regulations and company regulation.

Update the organization’s records of Personal Data processing

The organization must keep track of its Personal Data processing activities at all times, including those related to measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. An international best practice is to record the types of collected Personal Data, every relevant purpose of processing, the scope of intended-activities, recipient (if relevant), list of processors (if relevant), retention schedule, and general description of security measures implemented.

Ensure the security, integrity, and confidentiality of the data

Personal Data should always be processed and maintained with proper technical and organizational measures to prevent any data breach, theft, and/or leakage. Implementing a proper technical measure is to keep the data in a secure electronic environment, in accordance with applicable regulations. Further, a standard practice of good organizational measure is to have an internal policy/guideline which governs how Personal Data is handled. Since we are dealing with sensitive information during this outbreak, it is always better to limit the person with the knowledge to the data as necessary as possible, on a need-to-know basis.

Responding to the employees’ request with regard to their Personal Data rights

As a data subject, each employee has Personal Data rights. At times like this, an organization should thrive to grant employee’s Personal Data rights as much and as appropriate as it can. Indonesia, in this regard, provides data subject with right to confidentiality of the data, to file a complaint, to obtain access to rectify, to obtain access to historical records of the data, and to request the erasure of data under certain conditions.

  • What to do with the Collected Personal Data After You are Done?

The collected Personal Data ought to only be used for informed purposes and kept for the necessary period to achieve such particular purposes. Indonesian applicable regulation provides a minimum retention period of 5 (five) years after the purposes have been achieved. Notwithstanding, to prevent any unwanted data leakage or misuse, it is always better to store it in a format which does not allow any direct identification during such retention period, e.g., through pseudonymization. Once such period elapses, delete it.

 ***

During this trying time, the safety of the people should be the most important concern for each organization – and that includes, not just health, but also the safety of the privacy, private life, and Personal Data of the employees.

 

April 6, 2020

Copyright © 2020 AKSET. All rights reserved.


COVID-19: OJK Relaxes Requirements for Bank’s Asset Quality Assessment

Amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) outbreak in Indonesia, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan - “OJK”) issued The OJK Regulation No. 11/POJK.03/2020 of 2020 effective on March 16, 2020, on National Economic Stimulus as A Countercyclical Impact Policy Spread Of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“OJK Reg. 11/2020”). This OJK Reg. 11/2020 is enacted to anticipate the disruption that may occur in the banking industry by relaxing certain requirements on banks’ asset quality assessment concerning borrowers affected by COVID-19. OJK Reg. 11/2020 entered into force as of March 16, 2020 and will be effective until March 31, 2021.

One of the key mandates of OJK Reg. 11/2020 is that it enables banks to implement certain policies that support the stimulus for economic growth, particularly for borrowers affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including micro, small and medium enterprises (collectively, the “Affected Borrowers”).

Key policies contained in OJK Reg. 11/2020 are as follows:

  • Determination of Affected Borrowers

OJK Reg. 11/2020 defines an Affected Borrower as a borrower that faces difficulty fulfilling its obligations to banks because the borrower or its businesses are affected (directly or indirectly) by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Affected Borrowers may be involved in any of these business sectors: tourism, transportation, hospitality, trade, processing, agriculture, and mining. In determining policies to define an Affected Borrower, OJK Reg. 11/2020 requires such policies to be enacted by banks to consist of at least: (a) the criteria to constitute an Affected Borrower, and (b) the sectors that are affected by COVID-19.

  • Determination of Bank’s Asset Quality Assessment

OJK Reg. 11/2020 provides certain leniency for banks in determining their asset quality in the forms of:

  1. debts (for conventional banks),
  2. financing (for sharia banks or sharia business units), or
  3. other provision of funds (for conventional banks, sharia banks or sharia business units) (all of which, collectively, the “Loan”)

given to any Affected Borrower in the amount of up to Rp10,000,000,000 (ten billion Rupiah) or less.

The quality assessment of the Loan will be determined only based on the timely payment of either the Loan’s principal and/or interest (for conventional banks), or the margin or the profit share or ujrah (for sharia banks or sharia business unit). Whereas in ordinary time, the quality assessment of any Loan as a bank’s asset is determined by a borrower’s business prospects, a borrower’s performance, and a borrower’s ability to pay.

  • Credit Restructuring Policy
    • Any Loan of an Affected Borrower that is restructured will be classified Current (Lancar). In respect of a borrower with the Current status, banks are only required to set a 1% (one percent) provision of the amount of the restructured Loan for their loan-loss reserves in relation to that particular borrower. This provision aims at improving the banks’ soundness level.
    • For Rural Banks (BPR), a restructured Loan is excluded from the application of the credit restructuring accounting treatment as referred to in the Indonesian Banking Accounting Guidelines (Pedoman Akuntansi Perbankan IndonesiaPAPI”).
  • New Loans for Affected Borrowers

Banks may provide new Loans to any Affected Borrower.  The credit assessment for such new Loan as the banks’ asset will be determined separately from the Affected Borrowers’ existing Loans. For any new Loan with a principal amount of up to Rp10,000,000,000, its credit assessment will be determined only based on the timely payment of either the Loan’s principal and/or interest (for conventional banks), or the margin or profit share or ujrah (for sharia banks or sharia business unit).  This is a more lenient requirement compared to the standard determining factors, namely a borrower’s business prospects, a borrower’s performance, and a borrower’s ability to pay. For any Loan with a principal amount above Rp10,000,000,000, its quality assessment shall be determined by the standard formula stipulated under the relevant OJK Regulation concerning Quality Assessment of Assets for Commercial Banks.

  • Reporting Requirements

Banks that provide the above stimulus shall report to OJK based on the respective Banks’ positions at the closing month report for their closing positions at the ends of April 2020, June 2020, September 2020, December 2020, and March 2021. The form of the report is attached to OJK Reg. 11/2020.  Reports shall be delivered in the form of hardcopy to OJK no later than the end of month following each of the abovementioned reporting months.

 


COVID-19: OJK Relaksasi Persyaratan atas Penetapan Kualitas Aset Bank

Di tengah penyebaran wabah Virus Corona 2019 (“COVID-19”) di Indonesia, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan Indonesia (“OJK”) menerbitkan Peraturan OJK No. 11/POJK.03/2020 tahun 2020 yang mulai berlaku pada 16 Maret 2020 tentang Stimulus Perekonomian Nasional Sebagai Kebijakan Countercyclical Dampak  Penyebaran Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“POJK 11/2020”). POJK 11/2020 diberlakukan dalam rangka mengantisipasi hambatan yang mungkin terjadi dalam industri perbankan dengan menerapkan kebijakan tertentu untuk penetapan kualitas aset bank terkait debitur yang terkena dampak COVID-19. POJK 11/2020 diterbitkan pada tanggal 16 Maret 2020 dan akan berlaku hingga 31 Maret 2021.

Salah satu amanat dari POJK 11/2020 ini adalah untuk memberikan kewenangan kepada bank untuk dapat menerapkan suatu kebijakan stimulus untuk mendukung pertumbuhan ekonomi, terutama untuk debitur yang terdampak penyebaran COVID-19, termasuk debitur usaha mikro, kecil, dan menengah (secara bersama-sama “Debitur Terdampak”).

Kebijakan penting dalam POJK 11/2020 adalah sebagai berikut:

  • Penetapan Debitur Terdampak

POJK 11/2020 menetapkan bahwa Debitur Terdampak merupakan debitur yang mengalami kesulitan untuk memenuhi kewajiban pembayaran kredit kepada bank karena debitur atau usaha debitur terdampak (secara langsung ataupun tidak langsung) dari penyebaran COVID-19 pada sektor ekonomi antara lain pariwisata, transportasi, perhotelan, perdagangan, pengolahan, pertanian, dan pertambangan. Dalam menerapkan kebijakan yang mendukung stimulus pertumbuhan ekonomi ini, POJK 11/2020 mensyaratkan Bank memiliki pedoman penetapan Debitur Terdampak, yang paling sedikit memuat: (a) kriteria Debitur Terdampak, dan (b) sektor yang terkena dampak COVID-19.

  • Penetapan Kualitas Aset Bank

POJK 11/2020 memberikan kelonggaran tertentu untuk bank dalam menetapkan kualitas aset berupa:

  1. kredit (untuk bank umum konvensional),
  2. pembiayaan (untuk bank umum syariah atau unit usaha syariah), dan/atau
  3. penyediaan dana lain (untuk bank umum konvensional, bank umum syariah atau unit usaha syariah) (secara bersama-sama “Kredit”)

yang diberikan kepada Debitur Terdampak dengan plafon paling banyak Rp10.000.000.000 (sepuluh miliar rupiah).

POJK 11/2020 mengatur bahwa penetapan kualitas Kredit akan hanya didasarkan pada ketepatan pembayaran pokok atas pokok Kredit dan/atau bunga (untuk bank umum konvensional), atau margin atau bagi hasil atau ujrah (untuk bank umum syariah atau unit usaha syariah). Di mana dalam kondisi normal, kualitas Kredit sebagai aset bank ditetapkan berdasarkan prospek usaha debitur, kinerja debitur, dan kemampuan membayar debitur.

  • Kebijakan Restrukturisasi Kredit
    • Kualitas Kredit dari suatu Debitur Terdampak yang direstrukturisasi akan diklasifikasikan Lancar sejak dilakukan restrukturisasi. Dalam hal Debitur berstatus Lancar, bank hanya diwajibkan untuk menetapkan penyisihan umum 1% (satu persen) dari jumlah Kredit yang direstrukturisasi sebagai bentuk pemenuhan kewajiban penyisihan penilaian kualitas aset. Ketentuan ini bertujuan untuk membantu mempertahankan dan memperbaiki tingkat kesehatan bank yang ditinjau salah satunya berdasarkan risiko Kredit bank tersebut.
    • Untuk Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR), Kredit yang direstrukturisasi dikecualikan dari penerapan perlakuan akuntansi restrukturisasi kredit yang ditetapkan dalam Pedoman Akuntansi Perbankan Indonesia (“PAPI”).
  • Pemberian Penyediaan Dana Baru untuk Debitur Terdampak

Bank dapat memberikan Kredit baru kepada Debitur Terdampak. Penetapan kualitas kredit atas Kredit baru tersebut sebagai aset bank dilakukan secara terpisah dari Kredit Debitur Terdampak yang telah diberikan sebelumnya. Untuk Kredit baru dengan plafon paling banyak Rp10.000.000.000,00 (sepuluh miliar rupiah), penetapan kualitas Kredit akan didasarkan oleh ketepatan pembayaran pokok atas pokok Kredit dan/atau bunga (untuk bank umum konvensional), atau margin atau bagi hasil atau ujrah (untuk bank umum syariah atau unit usaha syariah). Hal tersebut merupakan persyaratan yang lebih longgar dibandingkan dengan faktor penilaian kualitas Kredit pada kondisi normal seperti: prospek usaha debitur, kinerja debitur, dan kemampuan membayar debitur untuk membayar. Untuk Kredit baru dengan plafon lebih dari Rp10.000.000.000,00 (sepuluh miliar rupiah), penetapan kualitas Kredit akan ditentukan sesuai dengan ketentuan peraturan OJK mengenai penilaian kualitas aset.

  • Persyaratan Pelaporan

Bank yang menerapkan kebijakan pendukung stimulus di atas harus melaporkan laporan posisi akhir bulan Bank tersebut kepada OJK untuk posisi akhir bulan April 2020, Juni 2020, September 2020, Desember 2020, dan Maret 2021. Format laporan tersebut terlampir dalam Lampiran POJK 11/2020. Laporan disampaikan secara luring kepada OJK paling lambat akhir bulan berikutnya setelah posisi bulan laporan.

***

April 2, 2020

Copyright © 2020 AKSET. All rights reserved.


Temporary Entry Restriction to Foreigners Due to Covid-19 Outbreak

On March 2, 2020, the Indonesian Government announced the first confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (officially named Covid-19) in Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of patients have been observed and the total number of confirmed positive cases has continued to rise.

Due to the continued Covid-19 outbreak, the Government has decided to instill new immigration policies in an attempt to contain the Covid-19 spread within the Indonesian territory. These policies are implemented through the issuance of the Minister of Law and Human Rights (the “MOLHR”) Regulation No. 11 of 2020 dated March 31, 2020 on Temporary Restriction for Foreigners in Entering the Territory of the Republic of Indonesia (the “Regulation”).

This Regulation revokes the two previous regulations which stipulates the same regarding the immigration related policies due to the outbreak of Covid-19, namely:

  • The MOLHR Regulation No. 7 of 2020 dated February 28, 2020, on the Granting of Visas and Stay Permits to Prevent the Corona Virus Outbreak; and
  • The MOLHR Regulation Number 8 of 2020 on the Temporary Suspension of the Visit Visa and Visa-on-Arrival as well as Emergency Stay Permits.

We set out below key points of the implemented policies based on the Regulation which may significant for foreign nationals who will visit Indonesia or are in Indonesia.

  • Travel Restrictions
  1. As of 12.00 a.m. on April 2, 2020, the Government temporary travel restrictions came into force. Any foreign national is preventing from entering or transiting through, Indonesia unless he or she is otherwise exempt.
  2. The exemptions are for foreign nationals who meet the following criteria:
    • A holder of a Limited Stay Permit (Izin Tinggal Terbatas) and a Permanent Stay Permit (Izin Tinggal Tetap);
    • A holder of a Diplomatic Visa and an Official Visa;
    • A holder of Diplomatic Stay Permit (Izin Tinggal Diplomatik) and an Official Stay Permit (Izin Tinggal Dinas);
    • A humanitarian aid worker;
    • A flight, sea, or land transportation crew member; or
    • An employee in a national strategy project.

In addition, the exempted foreign nationals who wish to visit Indonesia shall fulfill the following requirements:

    • they have to provide a health certificate issued by relevant health authorities from their respective countries in English;
    • they have stayed for 14 (fourteen) days in a country declared free from the coronavirus; and
    • they have to provide a statement of willingness to be quarantined for 14 (fourteen) days by the Indonesian Government.
  • Emergency Stay Permits

The Government will automatically issue an Emergency Stay Permit (Izin Tinggal Keadaan Terpaksa) to any foreign nationals currently in Indonesia who hold (i) a Visit Stay Permit (including those who entered Indonesia with Visa Exemption, Visa on Arrival, or Visit Visa); or (ii) a Limited or Permanent Stay Permit that expires and can no longer be extended. This issuance will be conducted without any requirement for any application to the immigration office and it is free of charge.

There are currently no established timeframes for the travel restriction under the Regulation and the policies above are subject to the future changes regulated by the Government.

 

***

April 2, 2020

Copyright © 2020 AKSET. All rights reserved.


Employee Protection and Business Sustainability on the Prevention of Covid-19

On March 17, 2020, the Minister of Manpower (the “MOM”) issued her Circular Letter No. M/3/HK.04/III/2020 on the Employee Protection and Business Sustainability on the Prevention of COVID-19 (the “Circular Letter”).

Through this Circular Letter, the MOM requests all the Governors in Indonesia to apply the following measures to protect employees and to sustain businesses.

  • Infection Prevention and Countermeasures of COVID-19 in Workplace

The Governors are requested to develop and supervise the implementation of laws and regulation related to the Occupational Health and Safety Measures (K3) and to register and report any COVID-19 case to the relevant institutions. The Governors shall instruct each employer to anticipate the COVID-19 outbreak at the workplace by implementing measures such as hygiene obligation into the K3, implementing the Health and Safety Supervising Committee, and optimizing the function of the work safety service.

The Governors shall emphasize that each employer must immediately develop a plan in facing the COVID-19 outbreak to lessen the infection risk in the workplace and to sustain the businesses.

  • Wage Protection during COVID-19 Outbreak

Any employee that is unable to work because:

  1. he or she is categorized a Person under Supervision (Orang Dalam Pengawasan) based on a doctor statement for the maximum of 14 (fourteen) days or more in compliance with the standards issued by the Ministry of Health, or
  2. he or she is a suspect of the COVID-19 infection and is quarantined or isolated based on a doctor statement,

is entitled to receive the full wages during the quarantine or isolation periods.

If an employee is unable to work because he or she is infected by the COVID-19 as evidenced by a doctor statement, he or she is entitled to received the wages as accordance to the prevailing laws and regulations.

For employers, the Circular Letter simply states that if an employer is unable or restrained to conduct its business based on the respective regional government policy, which in turn results in all or some of the workers being unable to work, in considering the business sustainability, such employer may amend or adjust the wage amounts and the means of payment based on a mutual agreement between the employer and the employees. This is nothing but a repetition of the relevant provisions of the Manpower Law (Law 13 of 2003).

In this context, please note that the Circular Letter does not allow employers to reduce wages without the consents of the employees. While this is disappointing for employers, please note that the Manpower Law restricts an employer from reducing the amounts of wages without the consent of the employee.

 

 ***

April 1, 2020

Copyright © 2020 AKSET. All rights reserved.


OJK Eases Up on Annual Report Obligation and General Meeting of Shareholders

As the Coronavirus Disease (“COVID-19”) represents an unprecedented challenge to business operations and compliance requirements,  and to minimize the spread requires limitation to public meetings and gatherings, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (“OJK”) responsively issued 2 (two) letters, namely: OJK Circular Letter No. S-88/D.04/2020 dated March 16, 2020 on the Handling and Controlling of the COVID-19 (“OJK Letter 88/2020”) and OJK Circular Letter No. S-92/D.04/2020 dated March 18, 2020 on the Relaxation on the Report Obligation and the Implementation of General Meeting of Shareholders (“GMS”) (such letter, “OJK Letter 92/2020”).

  • Guidance for Capital Market Industry Players

The OJK Letter 88/2020 provides a set of guidance for capital market industry players on their daily operational activities considering the outbreak of COVID-19 as to minimize the spread of such virus in Indonesia.

This guidance covers as follows:

    • Daily operational must be adjusted as to minimize face-to-face communication, without hindering any services to the public, by maximizing indirect communication facilities. Notification of this adjustment must be made to the employees, customers, and business partners through mass media and other normal communication means.
    • Procedures and guidelines on working from home policies must be immediately determined, based on the applicable laws and regulations, government-issued guidelines, company regulation, or other common practice. This working from home policy must be implemented in such a way that it does not obstructs the provision of service.
    • Improve the sanitary level on workplace and customer service facilities.
    • Suspend all business travels within the territory of Republic of Indonesia, especially to the regions with confirmed case of COVID-19, based on the most-updated data and information from the Ministry of Health.
    • Meetings and other events to be carried out through video conference, webinar, email and/or Whatsapp group.
    • Obligations to render services to the public must still be carried out, such as, among others: settlement on securities transactions, custodian services, customer service for collective investment contract, services to potential issuer or public company, securities administration, reporting to OJK, and public announcements.
    • Letters communication to OJK can be submitted via email to the Executive Head of Capital Market Supervisory: hoesen@ojk.go.id (cc: septiana@ojk.go.id and fakhri.hilmi@ojk.go.id).
  • Annual Report Submission

As stipulated under OJK Regulation No. 29/POJK.04/2016 on Annual Report of Issuer or Public Company, publicly listed companies must submit an annual report (along with, among others, audited annual financial statement) to OJK at the latest by the end of the 4th month after the end of financial year.

With the issuance of the OJK Letter 92/2020, OJK extends the deadline for publicly listed companies for annual financial statement report and annual report submission for 2 (two) months after the original deadline.

This extension also applies for: (i) the evaluation report of Audit Committee on the performance of rendering audit service on annual historical financial information of issuers and publicly listed companies and (ii) annual financial statement of other capital market industry players such as, among others, IDX, KSEI, KPEI, Securities Companies, Securities Administration Bureau, Mutual Funds, and Collective Investment Contracts in the form of Real Estate Investment Trust and Assets-Backed Securities.

  • Implementation of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

Extension of AGMS period

OJK Regulation No. 32/POJK.04/2014 on the Planning and Performance of General Meeting of Shareholders of Public Companies (“OJK Regulation 32/2014”) requires publicly listed companies to carry out AGMS at the latest by 6 (six) months after the end of the financial year.

With the issuance of OJK Letter 92/2020, OJK extends such deadline by 2 (two) months.

Implementation of E-GMS

With the issuance of OJK Letter 92/2020, OJK allows publicly listed companies to hold a GMS – whether annual GMS or other GMS (i.e. to discuss material transactions, transaction with conflict of interest) – using a mechanism of electronic proxy by using e-GMS system as currently being prepared by the Indonesia Central Securities Depository (Kustodian Sentral Efek Indonesia – “KSEI”).

As a follow up to OJK Letter 92/2020, on March 24, 2020, KSEI through a video conference with relevant stakeholders demonstrated the implementation of e-proxy and e-voting in a system called ‘eASY®‘, in relation the proposed implementation of  e-GMS (the “Platform”).

Below is the brief summary of the process of e-GMS through the Platform:

  • GMS Announcement

GMS announcement will be carried out through the Platform by sending an announcement (along with the supporting document, and the link to the document and information on the GMS) by blasting emails to the registered recipients as determined by relevant publicly listed company and KSEI.

According to KSEI, there will be a validation period of 14 (fourteen) days from the date of GMS announcement to the date of the GMS invitation – although it will be not implemented during the early stage.

Detailed information that must be completed are as follows: (a) type of meeting (i.e., AGMS/EGMS); (b) meeting date; (c) date of invitation; (d) record date; (e) start meeting hour; (f) end meeting hour; (g) address; (h) country; (i) province; (j) name of the notary, etc.

  • GMS Invitation

GMS invitation will be carried out by sending a notification to the shareholders through the Platform and relevant publicly listed company shall upload the agenda(s) of the GMS. The agenda must be made in 2 (two) languages, namely Indonesian and English language. The supporting document as well as the link to the document and information on the GMS can be attached to the GMS announcement.

Through the Platform, the publicly listed company can blast e-mails to the list of shareholders as determined by the said publicly listed company and KSEI.

According to KSEI, there will be a validation period of 21 (twenty-one) days from the date of GMS invitation to the date of GMS– although it will be not implemented during the early stage.

  • GMS

Physical GMS will still be held - attended by the appointed BAE and shareholders or their Proxies (to be defined below).

The quorum for attendance and voting will be calculated by those who are attending the GMS physically and via video conference (with prior registration through the Platform).

Simultaneously with the physical GMS, the GMS can be started when the publicly listed company clicks the 'e-meeting call' button on the Platform. On the screen, the parties can see, among others, the GMS agenda and its discussion, live streaming screen, and a chat room. The participants or the proxies can accept or reject the agenda of GMS by clicking 'accept', 'reject', or 'abstain' button on each agenda. These data then will be stored by the KSEI database, these data will be processed not later than d+1 from the meeting date at 12 noon.

  • Proxies

For this e-GMS system, the shareholders may appoint proxies as follows:

    • Individual

Shareholders can provide power of attorney to individual proxy who has been registered in the AKSes facility (electronic information access facility maintain by KSEI). If the individual proxy does not have the access to the AKSes facility, the relevant shareholder can input e-mail addresses, and an e-mail notification will be automatically sent to the individual proxy requesting to create a user ID at AKSes.

    • Independent Proxy

Shareholders may appoint the Independent Proxy as its proxy for the e-GMS. The Independent Proxy is the BAE as appointed by the relevant publicly listed company at the latest prior to the GMS invitation.

    • Account Holder Proxy

Shareholders may appoint its account holder (Custodian or Securities Companies) as its proxy for the e-GMS. The appointed account holder will register the vote to the KSEI database on the Platform by d-1 from the meeting date at 12 noon.

Lastly, KSEI also prepares to issue a decree of KSEI's directors regarding the implementation of the ‘eASY® system which will be expected to be released within this week. The first e-GMS using the ‘eASY® system will be held on May 13, 2020.

 

 ***

March 26, 2020

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