DGT Confirms Tax Refunds Must Comply with SOPs

JAKARTA, DDTCNews - Director General of Tax Bimo Wijayanto has affirmed that the Directorate General of Taxes will disburse tax refunds in accordance with the established standard operating procedures for audits.

According to Bimo, the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) cannot disburse tax refunds without adhering to the established standard operating procedures (SOP).

"These tax refunds are indeed selective, more measured, more planned and targeted towards sectors that are genuinely compliant. The others are subject to audit. And audits also have their standards. The DGT is certainly not in a position to breach the SOPs," he said on Tuesday (15/9/2026).

Regarding the tax refund policy going forward, Bimo continued, refunds will be implemented in line with the direction of the Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara.

"Of course, according to Mr Suahasil's guidance on how and all of that. We also have to adjust to the needs of development funding and deficit management, thereby the state budget remains strong, healthy, resilient and sustainable," said Bimo.

For information, tax refunds remain one of the obstacles highlighted by entrepreneurs and the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR in Indonesian).

Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, said his office had received complaints from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kamar Dagang dan Industri/Kadin in Indonesian) regarding obstacles to the disbursement of the said tax refunds.

Delayed disbursement of overpayment refunds is said to affect cash flow and businesses' ability to fund projects.

"We fully understand these [business] complaints and have coordinated, conveyed and consulted with the Minister of Finance, who indeed holds the authority and policy over tax refunds," said Agus.

Member of House of Representatives Commission XI, Harris Turino, also stated that tax refunds need to be disbursed promptly given that they are the right of the taxpayer. "A tax refund is fundamentally a corporate right. If this is withheld, many corporations will experience problems with their cash flow," said Harris. (rig)