DGT Responds to Taxpayers Over Slow Tax Refunds

JAKARTA, DDTCNews - The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has confirmed that the tax refund process is carried out in accordance with established procedures, including with regard to disbursement deadlines.

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 said in the vicinity of the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR in Indonesian), as quoted on Wednesday (2/9/2026).

The statement was made by Bimo amid complaints from the business community regarding the slow disbursement of tax refunds. For entrepreneurs, delays in tax refunds can adversely affect a company's cash flow.

A tax refund is the return of a tax overpayment to a taxpayer. Such overpayments may arise on the basis of an income tax return filed by the taxpayer or as a result of errors in tax collection or withholding tax.

Taxpayers may apply for a refund to the DGT. In response to such an application, the DGT conducts an examination or audit in accordance with the type of refund applied for.

An examination is conducted in respect of, among others, applications for preliminary refunds or accelerated tax refunds. Audits are generally conducted in respect of applications for refunds under the standard mechanism.

Previously, Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, revealed that many entrepreneurs had raised complaints about the disbursement of tax refunds with the Ministry of Industry.

According to Agus, the issue of tax refunds warrants attention as it is directly related to companies' cash flow, particularly for industry players that require funds to finance new projects.

Agus said he had met with Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa to convey the tax refund concerns raised by the business community.

"We fully understand these [business] complaints and have coordinated, conveyed and consulted on them with the minister of finance, who indeed holds the authority and policy remit over tax refunds," said Agus at a joint meeting with Commission VII of the House.

Based on DGT data, tax refunds up to July 2026 were recorded at IDR185.38 trillion. This figure represents a decline of 33.65% compared with the same period in the preceding year.

In further detail, corporate income tax refunds reached IDR52.66 trillion, whilst domestic value added tax refunds were recorded at IDR130.9 trillion. Meanwhile, refunds from other categories of tax reached IDR1.82 trillion. (dik)