Jakarta. The Indonesian business competition watchdog KPPU announced Monday that it would hit short video platform TikTok with a Rp 15 billion (nearly $900,000) fine over its late reporting of acquiring the online marketplace Tokopedia.

In early 2024, TikTok acquired 75.01 percent of Tokopedia’s shares. The remaining 24.99 percent went to GoTo, the Indonesian tech giant formed from the merger of the ride-hailing platform Gojek and Tokopedia. TikTok had about 30 business days to report the takeover to the KPPU, but failed to do it on time.

“The transaction legally took effect on January 31, 2024. This means [TikTok] had time until March 19 of last year to notify KPPU [of the acquisition],” the anti-monopoly body’s spokesperson Deswin Nur said.

Deswin revealed that TikTok Nusantara (SG) Pte. Ltd. -- the company handling the acquisition -- did not deny the delay and KPPU’s findings. They were also “cooperative” during the investigation, according to Deswin. KPPU also pointed out how TikTok had no history of past violations, while adding that all these factors had caused the agency to tone down the penalties.

“And so KPPU decided to impose a Rp 15 billion fine on TikTok Nusantara (SG) Pte. Ltd. The company must submit the money to the state treasury within 30 days after this decision becomes legally binding,” Deswin said.

The acquisition enabled TikTok Shop to return to Indonesia by separating its e-commerce business line from its social media platform. In late September 2023, the government banned social media platforms from conducting e-commerce activities. Indonesia is one of the leading global markets for TikTok.

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