A license should not be withheld. Withholding licenses can restrain economic growth, job creation, and EoDB improvement.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Investment Minister and head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia said the Online Single Submission (OSS) application is only meant to regulate the norms, standards, procedures, and criteria (NSPK) for the licensing process that has a high risk.

He assured that this newly launched risk-based OSS system will not wrest licensing authority away from regional agencies as directed by President Joko Widodo.

"No business licensing process is withdrawn from the regional to the center. It is all done in the regions," Lahadalia said at the launch of the risk-based OSS by President Joko Widodo here on Monday.

Regional governments will get 20 days to decide on granting business permit requests, he said.

"We have only set up regulations in NSPK. For example, if within 20 days conditions have been met, but the region's head has not issued the licensing, then we consider this scenario as a positive fictitious decision in government regulation No.5 of 2021," he added.

Under the fictitious positive procedure, if a regional government does not provide certainty on license issuance within a specified period of time even if all conditions are met, the OSS system will approve the permit automatically, Lahadalia elaborated.

He said he only understood the fictitious positive procedure after entering a government institution.

Related news: Risk-based OSS system's success rate reaches 83 percent: Ministry

"I never knew about the positive fictitious decision. I just found out when working for the government," he remarked.

Furthermore, as directed by President Widodo, the issuance of business licenses should not be complicated by the government, the minister said. Red tape can obstruct job creation and withhold the improvement of ease of doing business (EODB), he pointed out.

"A license should not be withheld. Withholding licenses can restrain economic growth, job creation, and EODB improvement," he stressed.

Nevertheless, because not all business players are trustworthy, the government will continue to take action according to procedures on rogue business players, Lahadalia said.

"There are good business players, but some behave badly, and if they fool around, we will take action as long as the case is still in NSPK's scope, including state administrators at the district, city, provincial and central levels," the minister added.

Related news: OSS system will not dilute powers of regional authorities: Jokowi



Translator: Ade J, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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