However, a WTO panel found certain deficiencies in how the challenged measures had been prepared, published and administered.

Indonesia generated 69.9 million tonnes of waste in 2023, according to Environment Ministry data. Yet it was estimated 57 percent of waste were managed informally through burning or burial due to inadequate facilities.

The DEN says the upcoming implementation of the GovTech integrated platform, which is expected to go online in August, could link tax compliance with an individual's eligibility for certain public services, such as passport issuance and business licensing.

Indonesia has been pilot testing the use of ammonia and hydrogen in power generation, but remains limited to only partially replacing the coal used in power plants, a method known as co-firing.

The property consultancy expects the government's move to extend the property VAT incentive through 2025 will have minimal effect on overall apartment purchases this year.

Incentives are critical to encouraging producers to ramp up production and investing in a more efficient processing technology, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said.

A ban on imports of industrial salt would hamper domestic production, while a prolonged disruption may prompt businesses to relocate their operations abroad.

Without the cap, seven industries would need to pay for gas at a much higher market rate.

More than 1.18 million Chinese tourists came to Bali in 2019, second only to Australia at 1.2 million, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

The government plans to plant rice side by side with sugar palms, energy crops or other plants with an intercropping system.

Business groups have expressed support for the policy U-turn that averted a value-added tax (VAT) hike on Jan. 1, but called on the government to be more predictable as the last-minute decision caused widespread confusion.  

President Prabowo Subianto and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati jointly announce that the VAT hike from 11 percent to 12 percent would only apply to luxury goods and services.

The House of Representatives has suggested a land amnesty to legalize ownership over millions of hectares of land with no right to cultivate (HGU) and to collect more state revenue.

“I think, in the future, we also have to increase palm oil plantations. We don’t have to be afraid of endangering, what is it called, deforestation, right?” Prabowo said.

The government says there is no reason for additional aircraft inspections even after authorities in South Korea on Monday ordered a "comprehensive inspection" of all Boeing 737-800s aircraft operated by domestic carriers.  

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati hails the benefits of media ties as a way to garner public support without the backing of political parties for technocrats like herself.

President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has announced a series of ambitious energy transition pledges this year, including reviving early coal retirement plans and adding 75 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity over next decade, but the year has also revealed serious impediments to this effort.

In late October 2021, the House’s plenary session passed the tax bill stipulating the VAT hike in 2025 with the support of eight political parties, including the PDI-P, Gerindra and Golkar.

Deputy Manpower Minister Emmanuel Ebenezer Gerungan said around 80,000 people had been laid off this year, up from last year’s 64,855 people, mostly in West Java.

NGOs say efforts to simplify environmental regulations should not come at the expense of sustainability, which they argue is under threat from the Job Creation Law.

Regardless of the President's instruction to temporary halt major infrastructure projects, the Public Works Ministry has vowed to continue ongoing toll road projects, arguing that roads were necessary to pave the way for Prabowo's three-pronged goal of food, energy and water security.

The incentives, announced on Monday, will partially waive luxury sales tax (PPnBM) for hybrid car purchases by 3 percentage points to a range of 3 to 9 percent from the initial 6 to 12 percent.

Apindo and other business associations say a 5 percent cut in loan interest rates for labor-intensive industries is insufficient to help employers stay afloat.

Bank Indonesia (BI) has refrained from cutting interest rates despite relatively low inflation as it focuses on buttressing the rupiah at a time when a strong US dollar is putting pressure on other currencies.

In October, the Treasury finalized rules effective Jan. 2 that will limit US investments in artificial intelligence and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security.

The government is proceeding with its plan of hiking value-added tax to 12 percent at the turn of the year but has announced multiple incentives to soften the blow for consumers.

The prototype reactor is to be delivered by South Korea in 2028 via sea route, with total investment for the project set to amount to Rp 17 trillion (US$1.06 billion), which would include a survey, research, technology transfer and infrastructure, among other things.