Bali closes new PT PMA OSS registrations in 18 KBLI 2025 categories

Bali — Bali’s provincial government has closed new registrations for foreign-owned companies, or PT PMA, in 18 specified low- and medium-low-risk business classifications through Indonesia’s Online Single Submission (OSS) system, according to an official announcement and advisory reports. The closure applies to new applications using a Bali business location and has been in force since the third week of May 2026.

The measure is targeted at lower-risk activities rather than a general ban on foreign investment. According to the provincial government, existing licences in the affected sectors remain valid, provided companies operate within their approved scope and comply with reporting and other regulatory obligations. Advisory firms note that investors should treat any changes to activities, locations or business models as potentially requiring new approval rather than assuming automatic rights based on prior licences.

For applicants, the practical requirement is to identify the precise five-digit KBLI 2025 code for the intended activity and check whether it is open to new PT PMA registrations in Bali before signing leases, incorporating a company or committing capital.

Which activities are affected

The official announcement and multiple investment advisories state that OSS access has been closed for PT PMA in 18 low- and medium-low-risk KBLI categories across Bali since the third week of May 2026. The sectors include parts of accommodation, real estate, consulting, vehicle rental, retail, food and beverage, tailoring, traditional medicine and sports or fitness services.

According to the provincial government and corroborating guides, the affected business fields include star-rated hotels with a building area under 6,000 square metres (KBLI 55110), budget or non-star hotels (55120), other short-term accommodation (55900), real-estate activities on owned or leased property (68111), general and industrial management consultancy (70209 and 70204), car, bus, truck and motorcycle rental (77100 and 77311), clothing and textile retail (47711 and 47511), other food retail and mobile agricultural-food retail (47249 and 47991), cafés and bars (56303), traditional medicine shops (56305), custom tailoring and garment making (14120), stadium facilities (93111), fitness centres (93116) and sports-promotion activities (93191).

Advisory material indicates that these 18 KBLI codes form the current closed list for new PT PMA registrations in Bali under the KBLI 2025 framework, while higher-risk categories remain available subject to licensing and investment conditions.

What the restriction does not do

The Bali provincial announcement states that closing OSS access for the 18 KBLI codes does not cancel existing business licences in those sectors. Companies that already hold approvals may continue operating as long as they respect their permitted business field, location and licensing conditions.

Investment advisers caution that the handling of amendments, expansions, relocations and new Bali branches is not fully detailed in public regulations and should be checked case by case through OSS and with professional advice. They warn that an existing licence in a closed category does not automatically guarantee approval for new projects or additional locations in Bali.

Advisory guides further emphasise that larger or more complex projects may fall into different, higher-risk KBLI classifications that remain open to PT PMA investment, subject to risk-based licensing under Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025 and the updated KBLI 2025 structure.

Options and compliance steps for investors

Some advisory firms describe a practical alternative for genuinely low-risk business models: incorporating a PT PMA in another province, such as Jakarta, and then registering branches or additional locations in Bali. They stress that this is not an automatic workaround, and Bali premises must still meet zoning, KBLI and licensing requirements.

Investors are advised to define their actual business activities, customers and premises; identify the correct KBLI 2025 code; review foreign-ownership rules and minimum capital thresholds; and verify whether the proposed address complies with spatial planning and KKPR requirements before applying. InCorp Indonesia notes that typical PT PMA structures require total investment above IDR 10 billion and paid-up capital of at least IDR 2.5 billion, though specific sectors may be subject to different rules.

Separate from the 18-category closure, the governor’s correspondence and several advisories describe a ban on virtual-office domiciles for PT PMA registered in Bali, reflecting concerns that such addresses were being used for residency or tourism rather than genuine business operations. OSS now generally requires a real commercial address with appropriate zoning, and authorities may conduct site visits before issuing spatial-use approvals.

Policy background

Advisory publications referencing official letters state that on 28 January 2026 Bali Governor Wayan Koster sent Letter No. B.27.000/642/PM/DPMPTSP to the Minister of Investment and head of BKPM, requesting that OSS close PT PMA registrations in low- and medium-low-risk business fields in Bali and restrict the use of virtual offices as company domiciles.

After coordination with national investment authorities, the provincial government reports that OSS access for PT PMA in the 18 named KBLI categories was closed across Bali in the third week of May 2026. The policy was publicly announced by the provincial government in late July 2026, with advisory reports citing announcement dates of 22 and 23 July.

The KBLI 2025 framework underpinning these classifications was introduced by the Central Statistics Agency under Regulation No. 7 of 2025, which came into force on 18 December 2025 and replaced KBLI 2020. Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025 on risk-based business licensing, effective 5 June 2025, provides the national structure defining low-, medium-low-, medium-high- and high-risk business activities and links them to licensing requirements.

Sources

• Pemerintah Provinsi Bali
• Polarius Real Estate
• Magnum Estate
• InCorp Indonesia
• Business Hub Asia
• Traceworthy
• Bali Corporate Services
• XPND Indonesia
• OneAsia Lawyers
• OSS RBA (Indonesia OSS system)
• Business-Indonesia.org
• PwC Indonesia
• Oktavianti Songiwati (LinkedIn post)