INDONESIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Vovo Iswanto, Albert Boy Situmorang, Wisnu Wardhana and Ingrid Gratsya Zega, Assegaf Hamzah & Partners
there has been a notable rise in consumer com - plaints, with a total of 1,708 consumer com - plaints recorded as of 26 November 2024. This reflects a staggering increase of 84% from the 929 complaints reported in 2023. In 2024, the highest number of complaints was reported from sectors such as financial services, tourism and the creative economy, e-commerce, and housing. This significant increase in consumer complaints is due to various factors, including rising consumer awareness, greater access to online platforms for filing complaints, and the growing complexity of services and products in these sectors, which often lead to more frequent disputes. In response to this increasing trend, BPKN has focused on the enhancement of con - sumer protection outreach through multichannel strategies. This includes increasing consumer lit - eracy, particularly in e-commerce and emerging commodities. Further, to strengthen international co-operation, BPKN has also engaged with global and regional partners, including the ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection, and participated in the 8th Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Con - sumer Law and Policy hosted by United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, Switzerland, in July 2024. These efforts aim to align Indonesia with global consumer protection standards and enhance the country’s capacity to address increasingly complex regional chal - lenges. Besides BPKN, the Directorate General of Con - sumer Protection and Trade Stability, Ministry of Trade (DG-PKTN), is another governmental body overseeing consumer issues. As a regulator and supervisor, DG-PKTN formulates and enforces policies and regulations relating to consumer protection across most sectors. In addition, DG-PKTN handles consumer complaints and
provides counselling to consumers and busi - nesses. According to data from the Director of Consumer Empowerment of DG-PKTN, from January to March 2025, there were approxi - mately 1,657 consumer complaints lodged with DG-PKTN, with most of the complaints coming from financial, automotive, telecommunication, transportation service, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Indonesia Enforces Halal Certification Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Mus - lim population, has commenced the enforce - ment of its halal certification requirements as mandated under Law No 33 of 2014 on Halal Product Assurance. This law requires that all products entering, circulating and traded within Indonesia be halal-certified if they fall under cat - egories subject to halal obligation. The primary objectives are to protect Muslim consumers and strengthen Indonesia’s position as a global halal hub. Under the current regulatory regime, products required to be halal must be accompanied by a halal certificate and clearly labelled as “halal.” Conversely, if a product is not halal, it must be explicitly labelled as “non-halal” on its packag - ing. To provide businesses with an adaptation peri - od, the halal certification obligation is being implemented in stages, depending on the prod - uct categories, as stipulated under Government Regulation No 42/2024 on the Implementation of Halal Products Assurance. Since 18 October 2024, this obligation has officially applied to: • food and beverage products; • raw materials, food additives, and auxiliary materials for food and beverage products; and
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