Tax Refunds Drop 37%, DGT Confirms No Disbursement Quota

JAKARTA, DDTCNews - Director General of Taxes, Bimo Wijayanto, has emphasised that the government does not set a quota for refund disbursements. This topic features among the reviews in national media today, Monday (21/9/2026).

Bimo said the government cannot set a refund budget. In his view, refunds are disbursed in accordance with taxpayers' tax overpayments. Nevertheless, the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) can provide estimates to the minister of finance.

"The government cannot set an estimated refund budget. That is a request arising from taxpayers' overpaid income tax returns. As for the estimate, I will report that to the minister first," he said.

It should be noted that the former minister of finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, had mentioned that tax refunds this year would reach IDR270 trillion. That figure would serve as a deduction from net national tax revenue.

For information, refund disbursements from January to August 2026 were recorded at IDR191.82 trillion, down approximately 37% compared with refund disbursements from January to August 2025, which stood at IDR304.29 trillion.

Refund disbursements this year comprise income tax refunds of IDR55.79 trillion, value added tax (VAT) and sales tax on luxury goods (STLGs) refunds of IDR134.32 trillion and other tax refunds of IDR1.71 trillion.

Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, previously confirmed that the tax refund process has been managed by the DGT pursuant to the provisions.

According to Suahasil, refund management is implemented based on regulations whilst taking into account the compliance of taxpayers submitting refund claims.

"I wish to convey that the management of refunds is implemented pursuant to the existing provisions. The DGT has implemented the management of refunds pursuant to the provisions, but we do require compliance," he said.

Suahasil explained that taxpayer compliance is necessary to ensure that disbursed refunds genuinely comply with the applicable rules.

"If it is the right of entrepreneurs, it will definitely be given. I instructed the director general of taxes to handle the management of refunds, including communicating the management of refunds," he stated.

In addition to the above topic, there are also reviews covering the realisation of non-tax state revenues (penerimaan negara bukan pajak/PNBP in Indonesian), which has already reached 95% of the 2026 state budget (anggaran penerimaan dan belanja negara/APBN in Indonesian) target. There are also discussions related to the digital economy tax, document management by tax auditors, notices of tax collection and other matters.

Below is the complete review of the tax articles.

With Refund Management in Place, Domestic VAT Revenue Surges 53.9%

Domestic VAT revenue was recorded as surging 53.9%, with a realisation of IDR314.8 trillion for the period January to August 2026.

According to Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, the surge was attributable to refund management in the fuel wholesale trade sector. Domestic VAT also became the type of tax with the largest contribution to total tax revenue through August 2026, at 22.3%.

"Domestic VAT grew strongly on a cumulative basis because it includes the refund management I mentioned earlier," he said. (DDTCNews/Kontan)

Government Expenditure Grows 29 Per Cent

Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, reported that central government expenditure was realised at IDR1,791.5 trillion throughout January-August 2026, growing 29% compared with the same period last year. That realisation also represents 56.9% of the 2026 state budget target of IDR3,149.7 trillion.

"Government expenditure up to 31 August amounted to IDR1,791 trillion, comprising IDR912.4 trillion in ministerial/institutional (K/L) expenditure and IDR879.1 trillion in non-K/L expenditure," he said.

Suahasil explained that K/L expenditure grew by 33% year on year. The increase in expenditure was influenced, among others, by the free nutritious meals (makan bergizi gratis/MBG in Indonesian) programme, social assistance as well as education means and infrastructure. (DDTCNews)

PNBP Remittances Hit IDR435.1 Trillion, 94.8% of 2026 APBN Target

Non-tax state revenue (penerimaan negara bukan pajak/PNBP in Indonesian) performance from January to 31 August 2026 reached IDR435.1 trillion, growing 41.7% compared with the previous year's IDR307.0 trillion.

Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, noted that PNBP realisation reached 94.8% of the 2026 APBN target of IDR459.2 trillion. Meanwhile, PNBP performance reached 75.7% of the outlook estimated at IDR575.1 trillion.

For information, PNBP comprises 4 components: revenues from natural resources (sumber daya alam/SDA in Indonesian), separated state assets (kekayaan negara yang dipisahkan/KND in Indonesian), other PNBP and revenue from public service agencies (badan layanan umum/BLU in Indonesian). (DDTCNews)

Auditor Changes Shift Responsibility for Taxpayer Documents

Through SE-10/PJ/2026, the DGT also regulates the transfer of responsibility for managing documents, whether in physical or electronic form, borrowed from taxpayers in the event of a change of auditor or review team.

The circular letter affirms that tax auditors, preliminary auditors or review team are responsible for documents borrowed from taxpayers until those documents are returned to the taxpayer, including in the event of a change of auditor or review team.

"In the event of a change of Tax Auditor, Preliminary Auditor, or Review Team, the replacing Tax Auditor, Preliminary Auditor, or Review Team shall be responsible for the Physical Documents," reads the provision in number 3 letter c of SE-10/PJ/2026. (DDTCNews)

DGT Collects IDR11.19 Trillion in Digital Economy Tax to August 2026

The DGT recorded digital economy sector tax revenue from January to 31 August 2026 at IDR11.19 trillion. That realisation was dominated by VAT on electronic commerce reaching IDR8.38 trillion.

"The largest contribution to that revenue continues to come from e-commerce VAT," said DGT Director of Tax Dissemination, Service and Public Relations, Inge Diana Rismawanti, in an official statement.

In addition, digital economy sector tax revenue was also contributed by crypto assets tax of IDR268.95 billion, fintech (peer-to-peer lending) tax of IDR878.18 billion and tax collected by third parties through the SIPP of IDR1.67 trillion. (DDTCNews)

Do Not Ignore an STP, Assets May Be Confiscated or Auctioned

The DGT has reminded taxpayers not to ignore a notice of tax collection (surat tagihan pajak/STP in Indonesian) upon receipt. A tax bill that remains unpaid can proceed to the active collection stage, through to confiscation and asset auction.

DGT Junior Tax Instructor, Gede Suarnaya, said taxpayers need to act promptly on a notice of collection after receiving it. In his view, the mistake lies not only when a notice of collection is issued, but also when a taxpayer ignores the tax bill.

"Our biggest mistake sometimes is not when the STP appears, but also when that STP is ignored," he said on the DGT Cermati Podcast. (DDTCNews)