Is It Mandatory to Use Rupiah for International Online Transactions?

PERTANYAAN

The online trading transaction was agreed upon at the US$ exchange rate as outlined in the agreement. After some time, when billed, the client would rather pay in rupiah. Since the exchange rate is always changing, which exchange rate should be used? Please advise on the payment of online trading transactions. Thank you.

INTISARI JAWABAN

Since 2011, the Currency Law requires the use of rupiah as payment for transactions conducted within Indonesia. However, there are some exempted conditions. What are they and are the conditions you are asking about exempted?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Wajibkah Transaksi Online Internasional Pakai Rupiah?, written by Haris Satiadi, S.H. from Haris Satiadi & Partners, and was published on Friday, 11 August 2023.

This article is the second update of the article entitled payment rate, written by Si Pokrol and was first published on Wednesday, 6 November 2002.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Obligation to Use Rupiah

Since 2011, the Currency Law requires the use of the rupiah currency as payment for transactions conducted within Indonesia. This is stated in Article 21 Currency Law which reads as follows.

1. Rupiah shall be used in:

 

1. any transaction which has a payment purpose;
2. settlement of other obligations which have to be settled by using money; and/or
3. other transactions which are performed in the Territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

 

2. Obligations as referred to in section (1) are not applicable for:

 

1. certain transactions for the purpose of the implementation of state revenue and expenditure;
2. revenue and/or granting grants from or to abroad;
3. international commerce transactions;
4. bank deposit in the form of foreign currencies; or
5. International finance transactions.

There are criminal sanctions for those who do not use rupiah, namely a maximum imprisonment of one year and a maximum fine of IDR 200 million.[1]

Rupiah Exclusion for International Commerce Transactions

Referring back to your question, we assume that you are conducting an online trading transaction or online commerce transaction in the form of an international trade transaction, as you have agreed to pay using US$.

The obligation to use the rupiah and its restrictions are further regulated in Regulation of BI 17/2015. The international trade transactions in Article 8 section (1) Regulation of BI 17/2015 include:

1. export and/or import activities of goods to or from outside the customs territory of the Republic of Indonesia; and/or
2. service trade activities that transcend national borders carried out by means of:

1. cross-border supply; and
2. consumption abroad.

Because your transaction is an international trade transaction, your transaction can still be carried out with payment using a currency other than rupiah, which in this case uses US$.

Regarding the change of currency for payment, which was previously agreed in the agreement using US$ and then changed to rupiah, in our opinion, you can check the clause of the signed agreement again. Whether there is a possibility of changing the currency for payment and the determination of the exchange rate.

For information, Bank Indonesia as the central bank currently has the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR). JISDOR is the spot price of USD/IDR, which is compiled based on the transaction rate of USD/IDR against rupiah between banks in the Indonesian foreign exchange market, through the Sistem Monitoring Transaksi Valuta Asing Terhadap Rupiah (“SISMONTAVAR”) also known as a monitoring system for foreign exchange transactions against the rupiah at Bank Indonesia in real-time. JISDOR is intended to provide a representative market price reference for spot USD/IDR transactions in the Indonesian foreign exchange market.

Thus, you can use JISDOR as a reference to negotiate with buyers to determine the exchange rate of US$ against rupiah as a benchmark for the amount of payment you will receive.

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These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 7 of 2011 on Currency;
2. Regulation of Bank Indonesia Number 17/3/PBI/2015 of 2015 on the Obligation to Use Rupiah in the Territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Reference:

Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR), accessed on 11 August 2023, at 15.02 West Indonesian Time (zone).

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[1] Article 33 section (1) Law Number 7 of 2011 on Currency.