Jakarta. Trade Minister Budi Santoso said on Monday that the central government could not intervene in the decision by authorities in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, to shut down 25 convenience stores operated by retail chains Alfamart and Indomaret.

Budi said the authority to approve or revoke retail operations lies with local governments.

“This is a licensing matter, and permits for these minimarkets are issued by regional administrations,” Budi told reporters at his office in Jakarta.

According to the minister, the establishment of modern retail outlets must comply with regional licensing requirements, including alignment with local spatial planning regulations.

“I do not yet know the specific issue there, but clearly this is related to permits, not other issues,” he said.

Earlier, the Central Lombok regency administration temporarily suspended operations at 18 Alfamart outlets and seven Indomaret outlets after finding that the stores had not completed licensing requirements mandated under Regional Regulation No. 7/2021 on the Management of Traditional Markets and Modern Retail.

One of the alleged violations involved regulations requiring modern retail outlets to maintain a minimum distance of one kilometer from traditional markets or community markets.

The closures triggered protests by hundreds of minimarket employees, with videos of the demonstrations circulating widely across digital platforms.