SUPREME COURT TURNS DOWN JUDICIAL REVIEW FILED BY 12 COMPANIES IN THE IMPORTED CATTLE CARTEL CASE BY CONFIRMING DECISION OF ICC.

The Supreme Court corroborates Decision of ICC on Case Number 10/ KPPU-I/2015 read out on April 22, 2016 regarding Alleged Violation of Article 11 and Article 19 sub-article (c) of Law Number 5 Year 1999 regarding Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices and Unfair Business Competition in Imported Cattle Trade in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Greater Jakarta). The verdict corroborated through the Judicial Review proceedings (PK) under the PK Decision register Number 113PK/Pdt.Sus-KPPU/2019 has rejected the Judicial Review filed by 12 companies in the case that was tried at the ICC as from 2016. Therefore, the decision has had a permanent legal force, and the Reported Parties are obliged to pay for the fine decided, namely a total amount of IDR59,604,338,000.

Previously, the ICC through its decision stated that 32 companies constituting importers and feedlots that import cattle both in the form of feeder cattle and imported cattle sustainably every year, have violated Article 11 and Article 19 sub-article (c) of Law Number 5 Year 1999. ICC found indications of the behaviors of beef traders and or association of slaughterhouses in the Greater Jakarta areas that stopped operating since the beginning of 2013 and the onset of August 2015 as a result of the increase in the purchase price of the imported cattle during that period.

During the hearing proceedings, ICC has found an agreement entered into by the Reported Parties and facilitated by APFINDO through a series of meetings which eventually showed the similarity of actions taken by the Reported Parties, namely rescheduling sales categorized as retention of supply of imported cattle in Greater Jakarta areas and/or marketing arrangements giving rise to unreasonable price increases that are detrimental to the public interest. Such supply retention actions were taken by the Reported Parties in a uniform manner by way of not materializing the amount of the cattle import quota (SPI) set by the Government.

In their remedy by lodging an objection to the Central Jakarta Court, in the decision read out on August 1, 2017, ICC was won and the Panel of Judges turned down the entire objection appeal and at the same time corroborated the decision of ICC. However, the Reported Parties did not stop at their objection remedy and 27 Reported Parties filed a cassation to the Supreme Court.

In the cassation proceddings, the Supreme Court through Cassation Decision Number 715K/Pdt.Sus-KPPU/2018 turned down the cassation petition filed by 27 petitioners on January 8, 2019. Based on such rejection, 12 Reported Parties filed a Judicial Review (PK) against the decision. In the Judicial Review proceedings, the Reported Party’s petition was rejected by the Supreme Court at the meeting of deliberation of Panel of Judges held on December 10, 2019. Therefore, the Reported Parties still have to discharge their obligation to pay for the fines as stipulated at the hearing at ICC and based on the rejection of the Judicial Review by the Supreme Court, it is asserted that the Decision ICC has reached the final proceedings so that it has had a permanent legal force (inkracht).