Trade Minister Zulhas Take Down 6,678 Online Oil Sales Links

Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) has lowered (take down) 6,678 links containing content for the sale of simple packaged bulk cooking oil with the Mintita trademark which is sold in e-commerce.

This step was due to a violation of the selling price.

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan emphasized that the circulation and sale of people's cooking oil, both bulk and packaged oil, would receive extra attention.

Both conventional or direct or online sales.

Zulhas, as Zulkifli Hasan is familiarly called, said that direct supervision will be carried out by the Directorate General of Consumer Protection and Trade Order (PKTN).

In addition to lowering links, continued Zulhas, the Ministry of Trade also secured as many as 937 cartons or 11,246 liters of several business actors who sold them through social media such as Facebook and Instagram.

"This supervision was carried out because the increasing number of business actors did not comply with the stipulated rules, causing the availability of oil for the people of Minita to decrease and the price exceeded the HET limit of Rp. 14,000 per liter," he said in a statement, Thursday, February 9.

The supervision is carried out based on Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection and Law Number 7 of 2014 concerning Trade as amended lastly by Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation Chapter III Paragraph 8 in the Trade Sector.

Zulhas also asked business actors not to take advantage of the situation when people have difficulty getting people's cooking oil.

Zulhas emphasized that business actors who produce and trade cooking oil in the oil-branded people must comply with laws and regulations related to the governance of the people's cooking oil program as stipulated in the Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 49 of 2022.

People's cooking oil in the form of packaging with the MINYAKITA brand should not be sold beyond the Highest Retail Price (HET) of Rp. 14,000 per liter and without restrictions on sales," he said.

Administrative Sanctions

Meanwhile, PKTN Director General Veri Anggrijono added, for business actors who trade cooking oil packaged by the oil brand through social media at a price exceeding HET, administrative sanctions can be imposed.

The witness in question is a written warning up to the revocation of business licensing in the trade sector in accordance with the provisions of Article 80 of Government Regulation Number 80 of 2019 and Article 23 of the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 49 of 2022.

Veri said the Ministry of Trade would coordinate with the local government so that sales could be carried out in accordance with HET.

"Meanwhile, business actors who make sales through social media will block accounts by coordinating with the Ministry of Communication and Information," said Veri.