DGT Urged to Widely Socialise Marketplace Tax Transition

JAKARTA, DDTCNews - The Employers' Association of Indonesia (Asosiasi Pengusaha Indonesia/APINDO in Indonesian) has called on the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) and marketplace providers to conduct wide-scale outreach regarding the Article 22 Income Tax collection policy to online merchants.

APINDO Tax Committee Chairperson, Siddhi Widyaprathama, considers that outreach on the Article 22 Income Tax collection policy is necessary to prevent confusion and uncertainty among online merchants on marketplaces.

"To ensure the transition period runs smoothly, APINDO encourages the government, the idEA association, marketplace operators and the general public to collectively safeguard the security of trade transaction data, ensure that digital systems operate stably as well as conduct extensive and clear outreach," he said, as quoted on Tuesday (7/7/2026).

Further, Siddhi noted that there are 4 key aspects of the policy designating marketplace providers as collection agents under MoF Reg. 37/2025.

First, APINDO considers that the policy aims to establish a level playing field that enabble online and conventional shops to compete more fairly, as they are subject to the same tax provisions.

Second, APINDO states that Article 22 Income Tax collected by marketplace providers is not a new type of tax, but rather a new collection mechanism. By implementing this tax collection scheme, the government seeks to optimise state revenue through improvements to the digital administration system, rather than by raising tax rates or imposing new types of tax that could potentially burden the market and entrepreneurs.

Third, there is protection for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs, whereby Article 22Income Tax will not be collected if an online merchant's turnover has not yet reached IDR500 million in the current tax year. According to Siddhi, this tax collection exemption will ease the burden on MSME entrepreneurs to prevent disruptions to their performance and enable them to continue to operate.

Please note that pursuant to MoF Reg. 37/2025, individual merchants must submit a statement letter to the marketplace provider stating that their turnover does not exceed IDR500 million per year to be exempt from tax collection.

Fourth, the automatic collection of Article 22 Income Tax by marketplace providers is intended to simplify online merchants' fulfilment of their tax obligations. Having been relieved of this administrative burden, entrepreneurs can focus on selling and scaling up their businesses.

"There is operational ease; the automatic withholding system on marketplaces frees merchants from the complexity of monthly administration. This efficiency allows bentrepreneurs to focus more on improving their business performance," said Siddhi.

Overall, APINDO believes that tax collection by marketplace providers can result in the digital trading system being more orderly, easier to supervise and operationally effective.

Previously, the DGT officially designated 4 marketplace providers as collection agents, namely Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada and Blibli, on 1 July 2026. However, tax collection will take effect from 1 August 2026.

"APINDO welcomes the implementation of MoF Reg. 37/2025 as a step forward in establishing a fairer and more efficient digital economic ecosystem in Indonesia," Siddhi concluded. (dik)