Online Single Submission
Updated: Jun 1, 2020
If you have ever undertaken any licensing process for your company in Indonesia, or you've planned to invest in Indonesia, you may hear that the process takes time and even makes you sick when you need to allocate some "unwanted" budget. Do not ever involve in any briberies if you do not want to get into any troubles in the future. Thanks to the government that the licensing process is streamlined using Online Single Submission (OSS) platform. It is a relatively recent update to Indonesia's business incorporation process and potentially a significant boost to Indonesia's ease of doing business, which is why new companies need to understand how it works.

Source: https://legaleraindonesia.com/
What is OSS?
OSS is the Indonesian government’s web-based platform that aims to simplify business licensing in Indonesia. The process to get a business license in Indonesia only takes a few hours through this platform, where it previously took several days. The licensing process is simplified by issuing the license upfront while the investor needs to fulfil different commitments that vary based on the business activities as designed by the government institutions. As a result, this process takes full responsibility from investors and the government.
The government launched the OSS on 9 July 2018. Since then, the platform has been available for new businesses to use when getting licenses. As of 2019, the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) is in charge of running the platform. You can access the platform through here.
What does the OSS provide to companies?
OSS allows companies to process several commercial and operational licenses in one place. Primarily, companies can get their Business Registration Number (or in Indonesian called as Nomor Induk Berusaha/NIB) in the platform, which acts as their:
Import identification number (or in Indonesian called as Angka Pengenal Impor - Umum/API-U)
Customs Access (or in Indonesian called as Akses Kepabeanan)
Certificate of Company Registration (or in Indonesian called as Tanda Daftar Perusahaan/TDP)
How does the OSS platform work?
To start a business company should obtain the following licenses based on the Government Regulation Number 24 Year 2018:
Business Registration Number (NIB)
Business License (or in Indonesian called as Izin Usaha)
Commercial/Operational License (or in Indonesian called as Izin Komersial/Operasional)
After registering your company's account, you need to fill in the required data in the platform, including its capital, data of company shareholders and board of directors and business activity. When all the necessary data are filled into the system, it will issue your company's NIB that will also serve as Certificate of Company Registration, Importer Identification Number and Customs Access. Thus, OSS simplifies the procedure, whereby an investor will not need to process the Certificate of Company Registration as a single step in setting up a new company.
When your company needs specific business licenses, these licenses are automatically issued after fulfilling the commitment statement for Location Permit, Environmental Permit, and Building Permit. These permits have different commitments that are assigned by related government institutions. For instance, after receiving a location permit, you should start to fulfil the commitment to get a technical recommendation from Regional Land Office. Your company will receive notification from OSS as their business license had been “activated” when commitments completed, including payment of invoices (if required).
When your company is ready for starting commercial/operational stage, you need to apply for Commerical/Operational Licenses. You should complete its commitments to get license/non-license, such as Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP, Circulation Permit, Indonesian National Standard, Product Registration related to your business. OSS platform will activate Commercial/Operational License once the commitments are completed.
Furthermore, your company can use the platform to apply or renew other business licenses depending on your chosen industry. When you want to expand your business, for example to other locations, your company must fulfil all the requirements, such as Location Permit, Environmental Permit, Building Construction Permit in each location. You must also update the expansion project information into the platform. Besides, other items that you could get with the platform include:
Personal or company tax ID (or in Indonesian called as Nomor Pokok Wajib Pajak/NPWP),
Approval for foreign employment plans (or in Indonesian called as Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing/RPTKA),
Documentation for the government’s Health and Social Security, and
Fiscal incentives such as tax allowances or tax holidays, if applicable.
The platform provides these items as the government aims to synchronize all different systems that are currently used by government institutions or ministries.
Who can utilize the platform and when can your company use the platform?
The platform is available for all profit-seeking enterprises, no matter if your business is:
Individuals or group-owned,
Micro, small, medium or large,
Founded before or after the launch of the OSS, and
Domestic, wholly, or partly foreign-owned
Most businesses can use the platform after registering as a legal entity to the Indonesian government as this platform is only for getting licenses, not incorporating a legal entity. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you have undertaken the process of incorporating your company as a legal entity, as getting the Deed of Establishment from Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights, before getting licenses through the platform.
How do your company register on the platform?
As mentioned, your company first need to get approval from Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights through a Deed of Establishment. Then, businesses can register in the OSS system by entering the Single Identity Number (or in Indonesian called as Nomor Induk Kependudukan/NIK) of the company’s director or person in charge. If they don’t have a Single Identity Number, they can get one by submitting their passport number. However, if you get a consultant, service provider, or notary to do this process, they still need to provide your company’s data. After that, the system will send you confirmation emails with your OSS account’s user ID and password.
If you have any questions or would like to know more, please contact us here.
Salam,
Mona Sources:
Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), www.bkpm.go.id