After closing its e-commerce operations on October 4, 2023, Tiktok Shop appears to be planning to resume operations in the near future. When they shut down their services, Tiktok stated that they would continue to communicate with the Indonesian government to discuss the next steps through an official release.
TikTok shut down its e-commerce service due to the issuance of new regulations in the form of Permendag No. 31 of 2023, which prohibits social media platforms from acting as e-commerce. However, it is possible that Tiktok Shop can resume its operations if it meets the requirements listed in the regulation.
For example, TikTok must stop the transaction facility in its application. The regulation stipulates that so-called social commerce platforms may only advertise goods. These details are included in the definition of social commerce and also explained in Article 21 paragraph (3), which prohibits platforms from conducting in-app transactions. In addition, Tiktok Shop must also appoint a representative in Indonesia. This requirement is referred to as the Foreign Trade Company Representative Office (KP3A), which is described in Articles 37 and 28 of the regulation.
Therefore, one of the possible options is for TikTok to launch a new application specifically for e-commerce. In this regard, there are strong signals that TikTok Shop will resume operations.
According to CNBC, TikTok Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shou Zi Chew has proposed a plan to meet with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in the near future, according to Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (Menkop-UKM) Teten Masduki. Teten explained that the meeting is likely to discuss a new business plan to be implemented by TikTok in Indonesia.
He said Jokowi's order was prompted by the impact of e-commerce on the SME sector, which is part of his ministry. He emphasized that the possibility of TikTok Shop's resumption is definitely there, as the service's revenue in Indonesia reaches more than Rp 8 trillion per month.
The government has also opened opportunities for foreign companies to enter the domestic market. However, Teten stressed that TikTok must comply with Indonesian regulations.
On the other hand, in a report presented by Bloomberg Technoz, it was mentioned that MayBank also said that TikTok Shop plans to resume operations in Indonesia after previously shutting down trading services for violating the new regulation on trading through electronic systems (PMSE), which has been revised and published in Indonesia a month ago.
However, it is still unclear when TikTok Shop will resume operations in Indonesia. Users can only be patient and wait for the time when this service will be available again.
