Competency and Professional Exams Now Mandatory for Tax Consultants

JAKARTA, DDTCNews – The issuance of MoF Reg. 55/2026, which overhauls the requirements for obtaining a tax consultant licence, has garnered public attention this week. New requirements that need to be considered are the certificate of competence and the certificate of passing the tax consultant professional examination.

A person may obtain a certificate of competence if they pass the competency examination. Meanwhile, a person can obtain a certificate of passing the professional exam after taking the professional exam. This implies that there are now 2 exams that a person needs to serve as a tax consultant, namely the competency examination and the professional exam.

"The application for a tax consultant licence shall be conducted by completing the forms and uploading documents in the form of the:…b. certificate of competence according to the licence classification applied for; c. certificate of passing the tax consultant professional examination issued by the tax consultant association," reads Article 5 paragraph (3) MoF Reg. 55/2026.

Competency Examination in the Field of Taxation

Referring to MoF Reg. 55/2026, the competency examination is administered by the Ministry of Finance unit, which has the duty of administering education, training and competency certification in the field of state finances and knowledge management (Financial Education and Training Agency or Badan Pendidikan Latihan Kesuangan/BPPK in Indonesian).

To administer the competency examination, the Financial Education and Training Agency may collaborate with other parties. Similar to the tax consultant certification examination (ujian sertifikasi konsultan pajak/USKP in Indonesian), the competency examination is classified into 3 levels, namely:

• Level A. This level certifies a person's level of competency in exercising the rights and/or fulfilling the tax obligations of individuals, except for individuals domiciled in a country that has entered into a tax treaty with Indonesia;
• Level B. This level certifies a person's level of competency in exercising the rights and/or fulfilling the tax obligations of individuals and entities, except for entities with foreign investments, permanent establishments (PEs) and individuals or entities domiciled i in a country that has entered into a tax treaty with Indonesia;
• Level C. This level certifies a person's level of competency in exercising the rights and/or fulfilling the tax obligations of all individuals and entities.

A person who is declared to have passed the competency examination will be given a certificate of competence (surat keterangan kompetensi/SKK) according to the classification of the competency examination in the field of taxation taken. The certificate of competence is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance.

The validity period of the certificate of competence may be extended no later than 1 month before the expiration of the validity period. The extension is conducted by taking a refresher examination. The administration of this refresher examination is also conducted by the Financial Education and Training Agency.

Tax Consultant Professional Examination

The tax consultant professional examination is administered by the tax consultant association. The association administers the examination by referring to the policies set by the tax consultant professionalism enhancement committee.

A person must pass a professional examination in order to obtain a certificate of passing the tax consultant professional examination. This certificate is one of the new requirements for applying for a practice licence for tax consultants.

MoF Reg. 55/2026 emphasizes that tax consultant associations must administer tax consultant professional examination no later than 31 December 2026. However, before the professional examination is administered, the application for a tax consultant licence can use a tax consultant certificate issued pursuant to the former regulations.

"Tax consultant certificates that have been issued pursuant to the MoF Reg. 111/2014, as last amended by MoF Reg. 175/2022…, shall be declared to remain valid as certificates of competence, for a maximum period of 2 years from the time of issuance of the tax consultant certificates and may be used as requirements for the application for a tax consultant licence until the tax consultant association administers tax consultant professional examination," reads Article 60 letter f of MoF Reg. 55/2026.

In addition to the issuance of MoF Reg. 55/2026, there are a number of other tax issues that have also attracted the attention of readers in the past week. These include the government-borne income tax facility for interest on foreign exchange government securities as well as the transfer plan for 1,261 employees of the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT).

Here's a full review of the tax articles.

Gov't-Borne Tax on Interest on Foreign-Currency Government Securities

The government bears the income tax on interest or yields from government securities (surat berharga negara/SBN in Indonesian) denominated in foreign currency issued in the domestic primary market.

This policy is regulated under MoF Reg. 59/2026. The government-borne income tax incentive is provided to encourage individuals and entrepreneurs to place funds in foreign-currency SBN in the domestic primary market.

"Income tax payable on income in the form of interest or yield from government securities in foreign currency issued by the government in the domestic primary market shall be borne by the government," reads Article 2 paragraph (1) of MoF Reg. 59/2026.

DGT Responds to Taxpayers Over Slow Tax Refunds

The DGT has confirmed that the tax refund process is conducted in accordance with established procedures, including with regard to disbursement deadlines. The statement was conveyed amid complaints from the business community regarding the slow disbursement of tax refunds.

Director General of Taxes, Bimo Wijayanto, said that tax refunds are disbursed after tax officials have completed a series of audits of taxpayer applications.

"Everything has its procedures. So, we conduct the audit, and once the audit is complete, we disburse the refund according to the standard operating procedures, the deadlines and so forth," he remarked.

DGT to Transfer Thousands of Staff, from Tax Instructors to Auditors

The DGT is once again restructuring its workforce. This time, the DGT is transferring and inaugurating 1,261 employees into functional positions as set out in Announcement No. PENG-556/PJ/PJ.01/2026.

Referring to the announcement, the DGT is transferring and appointing 1,227 employees into the functional positions of tax auditors, tax appraisers, assistant tax appraisers, tax instructors and assistant tax instructors. Further, 34 employees have been inaugurated as functional state budget financial administrators.

"The inauguration of functional officials will be implemented in person/virtually on: day, date: Thursday, 3 September 2026; time: 09.00 Western Indonesia Time until completion,” reads an excerpt fromPENG-556/PJ/PJ.01/2026.

Parliament Backs Marketplace Tax in 2027 Revenue Strategy

The government and Commission XI of the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR in Indonesian) supports the collection of Article 22 Income Tax by marketplaces on income received by online merchants, which will commence in 2027. This policy is part of next year’s tax intensification strategy.

Chairperson of the House Commission XI, Mukhamad Misbakhun, stated that the parliament supports the application of the policy on Article 22 Income Tax collection by marketplaces, as stipulated under MoF Reg. 37/2025.

Misbakhun, however, also called on the government to simplify the mechanism for submitting declaration letters so that online merchants may be exempted from the collection of Article 22 Income Tax by marketplace operators.

"Technical tax policy is the implementation of general taxation policy, namely the intensification of tax on digital transactions and e-commerce, including the application of Article 22 Income Tax on e-commerce at 0.5%," he stated.

Purbaya Cautions Entrepreneurs Using MSME Final Income Tax Regime

Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, has affirmed that micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs may continue to enjoy a final income tax rate of 0.5% provided they satisfy the applicable provisions.

Purbaya stated that the final income tax facility may be utilised by individual taxpayers and sole proprietorships with turnover not exceeding IDR4.8 billion per year, without any time limit. However, he cautioned taxpayers to pay tax pursuant to the general provisions once the scale of their business and their turnover have increased.

“For MSMEs, entrepreneurs [have a final income tax of] 0.5% indefinitely, not just until 2029; I am granting it indefinitely. So it is entirely up to them, but once they exceed the threshold, they must pay tax," he said. (dik)