Government New Regulation on Tapera: How Does It Affect Business Enterprises?
The Indonesian government, through Government Regulation No. 21 of 2024 on Amendment to Government Regulation No. 25 of 2020 on the Implementation of Public Housing Saving (Tabungan Perumahan Rakyat/ “Tapera”) which amends the Government Regulation No. 25 of 2020 on the Implementation of Public Housing Saving (“GR Tapera”). It should be noted first that Tapera is not a newly enacted policy; instead, it has been introduced through Law No. 4 of 2016 on Public Housing Savings (“Tapera Law”).
In essence, Tapera is a program by the Indonesian government managed by Badan Pengelola Tapera (“BP Tapera”) to gather and manage people’s funds to facilitate people’s housing needs and/or to be returned to the participant alongside the result of the savings management through an investment scheme. As reflected in its definition, not all participants can enjoy the benefits of home financing program of Tapera, as some of the participants will only receive the savings alongside the result of its investment managed by BP Tapera.
Home Financing Program
The home financing program of Tapera consists of home purchasing, home building, and home renovation programs. This financing program can only be granted to the first home of the respective participant, can only be given once, and comes with a certain amount of financing for every home financing.
Besides the above-mentioned objective eligibality of the home financing program, participants who intend to enjoy the home financing program must also fulfill several subjectives criteria, i.e., must have been a participant of Tapera for at least 12 (twelve) months, being classified as a low-income worker, has not possessed any home, and/or using the home financing program to finance their first home purchase, building, or renovation. The fulfillment of such requirements will be reviewed by the relevant bank or financing company managed by BP Tapera. Once the home-financing program is approved, the financing will be chaneed to the respective participant through the relevant bank or financing company.
Obligation For Enterprises and Employers
The participation of employees receiving income at the minimum equal to the applicable minimum wage provision determined by the government is mandatory. Further, referring to Article 8 of Tapera Law, the registration of the relevant employee shall be conducted by the employer. Therefore, registering qualified employees to participate Tapera is mandatory for the employer and must be conducted before 20 May 2027.
Furthermore, similar to the BPJS premium that imposes the employer’s contribution on the employee’s contribution, the employer is obligated to contribute in the amount of 0.5% of the employee’s monthly wage and also deduct 2.5% of the monthly wage from the employee’s salary to be paid to BP Tapera on behalf of the employee for the employee’s portion of savings.
Article 48 of GR Tapera further stipulates several obligations that must be borne by an employer regarding the participation of its employee in Tapera, which includes registering its employee as the participant of Tapera, collecting savings which become the responsibility of the employee as a participant by deducting the employee’s salaries or wages as well as paying employer’s portion of the employee’s savings accordingly, updating the employee data in relation to the Tapera participation, and securing all reports and details of savings payment that become the responsibility of the employee as well as the employer. Any violation towards the obligations of the employer as mentioned above may result in the imposition of several types of sanctions, which are:
- Written warning
BP Tapera may issue a written warning to an employer who violates its obligation for a maximum period of 10 (ten) working days. Should the employer still refuse to comply, a second written warning will be issued by BP Tapera for the maximum period of 10 (ten) working days.
- Administrative fines
Administrative fines shall be given to the employer who refuse to comply with the second written warning. The amount of the administrative fines is 0.1% per month, calculated based on the monthly saving that must be deposited by the respective employer and to be calculated starting from the end of the period of second written warning.
- Publication of incompliance conducted by employer
If, despite receiving, two written warnings and being charged with administrative fines, the employer persists in their non-compliance, BP Tapera, with the necessary permission of after obtaining permission from the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan/ “OJK”) or relevant prevailing authority, may be compelled to publish the employer’s non-compliance,
- Employer’s licence freezing and/or revocation
If, after the publication of its non-compliance is published, the employer still refuses to comply, then the employer’s license freezing and/or revocation might be imposed by the the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan/ “OJK”) for a financial service employer or by the relevant prevailing authority for non-financial service employer after obtaining recommendation from BP Tapera.
For Bank
Funds managed by BP Tapera shall be stored in the Custodian Bank, defined as a bank appointed to hold and safeguard the funds. Therefore, there is a chance for banks to register themselves to participate as the Custodian Bank in the Tapera program.
Conclusion
Whether you are a business enterprise seeking comprehensive information on the Tapera program’s compliance requirements or a bank considering participation as a custodian bank, rest assured that BIL, with its experienced lawyers in general corporate compliance and banking & finance matters, is ready to provide the necessary legal assistance.
*The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of our Junior Associate, Chaterine Suryadi in preparing this legal alert.