Permendag No. 19 of 2026 is Indonesia’s new rulebook for trade conducted through electronic systems, and it changes what a marketplace can let you sell without proof of a valid business license. It took effect on 8 June 2026, replacing Permendag No. 31 of 2023, and it now sits alongside a separate overhaul of trademark rules under Permenkum No. 5 of 2026. For a domestic seller, the fix is usually a quick OSS filing. For a foreign brand or company, it is not that simple, because an individual-type NIB was never available to you in the first place.
Key Takeaways
- Permendag 19/2026 requires every seller to hold a valid NIB in the trade sector before a marketplace can accept their registration, with a 6-month grace period for new sellers and 18 months for sellers who were already active.
- Foreign individuals cannot obtain an NIB perorangan. A foreign brand needs either a PT PMA to get a company-based NIB, or it must sell cross-border under the separate foreign seller rules in Article 6.
- Permenkum 5/2026 tightened document requirements for foreign trademark applicants but also cut registration timelines for uncontested applications from 12 to 18 months down to roughly 3 months.
What Does Permendag 19/2026 Require From Marketplace Sellers?
Permendag 19/2026 governs Penyelenggaraan Usaha Perdagangan Melalui Sistem Elektronik, or PMSE, and it expanded the scope from six business models to eight, adding ride-hailing and online travel agents alongside marketplaces, social commerce, and classified ads. The core seller obligation sits in Article 4: platforms must reject registration from any seller who cannot show a valid business license, most commonly an NIB in the trade sector, along with proof that their products meet applicable standards.
The regulation phases this in rather than switching it on overnight. New sellers, meaning anyone registering an account for the first time after 8 June 2026, get 6 months from registration to complete their licensing. Sellers who were already trading before the rule took effect get an 18-month transition window. During that window a platform can tag the account “Dalam Proses Legalisasi,” a visible label that tells both the platform and the consumer that licensing is still pending.
Anyone who has worked through how the NIB actually functions in Indonesia’s OSS system will recognize the mechanics. What is new here is that the marketplace itself is now the enforcement point, not just the government.
Why Can’t a Foreign Brand Just Register an Individual NIB?
This is the detail that trips up a lot of foreign brand owners. An NIB perorangan, the individual-track business number, is only issued to Indonesian citizens who register through OSS using their national ID (NIK). A foreign national or a foreign company has no path to that individual track. There is no workaround, no proxy registration, no shortcut through a friend’s KTP that holds up under the platform’s verification.
That leaves two real options for a foreign brand that wants to sell into Indonesia’s marketplaces. The first is to incorporate a PT PMA, Indonesia’s foreign-owned limited liability structure, which then obtains a company-level NIB through OSS in the normal way. E-commerce is broadly open to 100 percent foreign ownership under Indonesia’s current investment list, so this route doesn’t require a local partner in most product categories. The positive investment list breakdown for e-commerce and retail sectors covers the ownership thresholds and minimum capital in more detail.
The second option, selling cross-border without setting up a local entity, is still available. It just comes with a different, narrower set of requirements under Article 6, and it closes off some of the benefits, like local product prioritization and Official Store labeling, that only apply to sellers with Indonesian legal status.
How Do Foreign Sellers Without a Local Entity Meet the New Requirements?
If a foreign brand chooses to keep selling cross-border rather than incorporate locally, Article 6 sets out what has to be on file with the platform before an account is approved. The seller must submit their business identity, meaning name and address in the home country, a business license issued by the relevant authority in that country, proof that the goods or services meet applicable technical standards, and the bank account information used to receive payment.
Foreign business documents also need cross-border legalization before an Indonesian platform will accept them. If the seller’s home country is party to the Apostille Convention, an apostille stamp from the competent authority there is sufficient. If it isn’t, the documents need legalization through the Indonesian embassy or consulate in that country instead. Skip this step and the platform has no legal basis to approve the account, regardless of how complete the rest of the file looks.
On top of the entity documents, product-level requirements apply too. Product descriptions must be in Bahasa Indonesia, the country of origin of the shipment has to be displayed, and imported goods below a stated minimum free-on-board value face additional restriction, part of the government’s stated push to protect domestic manufacturers and small sellers from low-cost import flooding. None of this replaces sector licensing that already existed, so cosmetics still need BPOM clearance and food products still need halal certification where applicable.
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What Changed for Trademark Registration Under Permenkum 5/2026?
Separately from the marketplace regulation, the Ministry of Law issued Permenkum No. 5 of 2026 on trademark registration, effective 23 February 2026, replacing the older Permenkumham No. 67 of 2016. Filing is now fully electronic through the DGIP portal, and the timeline for uncontested applications dropped substantially: publication happens within 15 days of filing, followed by a fixed two-month opposition window, and if nobody opposes, substantive examination has to finish within 30 days. Put together, a clean application can now reach registration in roughly three months, compared to 12 to 18 months or longer under the old framework.
The tradeoff is that document requirements for foreign applicants got stricter, not looser. Individual foreign applicants now need a scanned passport on file. Foreign legal entities need documents evidencing their establishment, such as a certified Articles of Incorporation or a company register extract. Foreign applicants who file through a registered Indonesian IP consultant, which is the standard route since Indonesia requires local representation for most foreign filers, can generally use the consultant’s identification documents to satisfy part of this requirement. Our full trademark registration guide for 2026 walks through the document checklist and the class-selection decisions that tend to matter most for foreign applicants.
Why Does Trademark Registration Matter Before You Claim “Official Store”?
This is where the two regulations actually connect, and it’s the part most guides skip. Permendag 19/2026 regulates seller labels like Official Store, Authorized Store, Flagship Store, and Power Merchant. A store cannot self-assign one of these labels; it needs a written agreement with the actual brand or product owner, and the platform is responsible for verifying that documentation before the label goes live. A shop calling itself “Philips Official Store” without an agreement from Philips is a violation, not a marketing choice.
For a foreign brand that owns its own name and wants that label on its own products, the practical prerequisite is holding the trademark registration in Indonesia, or at minimum having a clear chain of rights that a platform’s verification team can check. Indonesia runs on a first-to-file system, not first-to-use, so ownership of the mark abroad counts for nothing locally if someone else files first. The cautionary example that keeps coming up in Indonesian IP practice is Polo Ralph Lauren: the brand never registered its mark in Indonesia in the 1980s, a local businessman filed “Polo Ralph Lauren” in 1986, and rights to the name inside Indonesia ended up with a domestic company. That dispute has run for decades.
Notes from InvestinAsia Consultants
A pattern we see often with foreign brands entering through marketplaces: they get the NIB sorted, launch the store, and only start the trademark filing after a squatter or a copycat listing already shows up in search results. Filing the trademark application before the store goes live, even before the PT PMA paperwork is finished, closes that window. The application date is what protects you under the first-to-file rule, not the registration certificate.
What Happens If a Seller Misses the Deadline?
Once the grace period runs out, whether that’s 6 months for a new seller or 18 months for one who was already trading, the platform is required to restrict access to the account. Permendag 19/2026 describes this as a suspension or, for continued non-compliance, a permanent halt to transactions on that account. The regulation puts the obligation on the platform directly, which is why marketplaces have been tightening their own verification flows rather than waiting for spot checks from Kemendag.
There’s a secondary risk that’s easy to underestimate: KBLI codes. Companies whose existing NIB still runs on the older KBLI 2020 classification may need to convert to KBLI 2025 codes to keep their risk-based licensing accurate, and getting that conversion wrong can trigger a higher risk tier than the business actually needs, which means more permits, not fewer.
What Is the Practical Roadmap for a Foreign Brand Entering Indonesian Marketplaces in 2026?
For a foreign brand or company that wants full local status, meaning an Official Store label, priority in domestic product rankings, and none of the cross-border restrictions, the sequence generally looks like this:
1. Incorporate a PT PMA
This is the only structure that gives a foreign owner a company-based NIB. Since most e-commerce categories are open to 100 percent foreign ownership, a local partner usually isn’t required, though the minimum investment threshold still applies.
2. Register the NIB and confirm the correct KBLI
The NIB comes through Indonesia’s OSS system once the PT PMA is incorporated. Getting the trade-sector KBLI code right at this stage avoids the reclassification headache described above.
3. File the trademark application early
Given the first-to-file risk, this step should run in parallel with incorporation rather than after the store is live, not after.
4. Register on the marketplace and secure the Official Store agreement
Once the NIB and trademark filing are in place, the seller can submit the brand agreement documentation the platform needs to activate Official Store status.
Cross-border sellers who don’t want to incorporate follow a shorter version of this: gather the Article 6 documents, get them apostilled or embassy-legalized, translate product descriptions into Bahasa Indonesia, and file the trademark application regardless, since squatting risk exists whether or not you have a local entity.
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Regulations under Permendag 19/2026 and Permenkum 5/2026 continue to be clarified through implementing guidance from Kemendag and DGIP. This article reflects the rules as published and is for informational purposes only. It does not replace consultation with a qualified professional on your specific product category and entity structure.
References
1. Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. (2026). Peraturan Menteri Perdagangan Nomor 19 Tahun 2026 tentang Penyelenggaraan Usaha Perdagangan Melalui Sistem Elektronik. Retrieved from
https://jdih.kemendag.go.id/peraturan/peraturan-menteri-perdagangan-republik-indonesia-nomor-19-tahun-2026-tentang-penyelenggaraan-usaha-perdagangan-melalui-sistem-elektronik
2. Directorate General of Domestic Trade, Ministry of Trade. (2026). Ditjen PDN Sosialisasikan Permendag Nomor 19 Tahun 2026. Retrieved from
https://ditjenpdn.kemendag.go.id/berita/ditjen-pdn-sosialisasikan-permendag-nomor-19-tahun-2026-untuk-perkuat-tata-kelola-perdagangan-melalui-sistem-elektronik
3. Directorate General of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Law. (2026). Peraturan Menteri Hukum Nomor 5 Tahun 2026 tentang Pendaftaran Merek. Retrieved from
https://jdih.dgip.go.id/produk_hukum/view/id/596
4. Government of Indonesia. (2026). Permenkum No. 5 Tahun 2026 tentang Pendaftaran Merek. Retrieved from
https://peraturan.go.id/id/permenkum-no-5-tahun-2026
5. Directorate General of Intellectual Property. (2026). Permenkum Baru, Kini Pemeriksaan Substantif Merek Jadi Lebih Cepat. Retrieved from
https://www.dgip.go.id/index.php/artikel/detail-artikel-berita/permenkum-baru-kini-pemeriksaan-substantif-merek-jadi-lebih-cepat
