DGT: A Notice of Tax Collection Does Not Always Mean a Major Violation

JAKARTA, DDTCNews - The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has clarified that taxpayers who receive a notice of tax collection (surat tagihan pajak/STP in Indonesian) need not immediately assume they have committed a serious violation.

DGT Junior Tax Instructor, Gede Suarnaya, stated that a notice of tax collection may be issued under various tax-related circumstances. Beyond a tax underpayment, a notice of tax collection may relate to administrative penalties, late payment and the results of DGT's administrative examination.

"An STP does not always mean that the taxpayer has committed a major violation. In practice, an STP may also be issued for several reasons," said Gede on the DGT's Cermati podcast, as cited on Tuesday (22/9/2026).

Pursuant to Article 14 of the General Provisions and Tax Procedures Law (GPTP Law) and Minister of Finance Regulation 80/2023 (MoF Reg. 80/2023), a notice of tax collection may be issued, among others, where:

1. income tax for the current year has not been paid or has been underpaid;
2. results of the examination reveal a tax underpayment arising from a misspelling and/or miscalculation;
3. the taxpayer is subject to an administrative penalty in the form of a fine and/or interest;
4. an entrepreneur that has been registered as a taxable person (pengusaha kena pajak/PKP in Indonesian) fails to issue a tax invoice or issues a tax invoice late;
5. an entrepreneur registered as a taxable person does not fully complete a tax invoice as required under Article 13 paragraph (5) and paragraph (6) of the VAT Law, other than the identity of the buyer of taxable goods (barang kena pajak/BKP in Indonesian) or the recipient of taxable services (jasa kena pajak/JKP in Indonesian) and the name and signature as required under Article 13 paragraph (5) subparagraph b and subparagraph g of the VAT Law where the supply is conducted by a retailer taxable person;
6. there is interest compensation that should not be granted to a taxpayer, where a decision is issued; a ruling is received; or data or information is found indicating that interest compensation should not be granted to the taxpayer; or
7. there is an amount of tax that has not been paid or has been underpaid within the period agreed for the instalment or deferral of the tax underpayment payable under the income tax return as provided for under Article 9 paragraph (4) of the GPTP Law.

MoF Reg. 80/2023 also governs the issuance of a notice of tax collection against stamp duty collecting agents, carbon tax collection agents and taxpayers generating carbon emissions, that are subject to fines and/or interest penalties.

According to Gede, taxpayers that receive a otice of tax collection should not immediately panic. The first step is to read the notice of tax collection carefully and understand the reason for its issuance.

Taxpayers should pay attention to the type of tax, the taxable period and tax year, the amount of the tax collection and the reason underlying the issuance of the notice of tax collection. Gede noted that taxpayers often focus solely on the amount of the tax collection without first understanding the cause of the collection.

Subsequently, taxpayers should cross-check the data in the notice of tax collection against documents in their possession, such as proof of payment, withholding or collection slips, filed tax returns and relevant transaction documents.

"If there is data that is not yet understood or there is a possibility of a data discrepancy, we recommend that taxpayers contact Kring Pajak, the nearest tax office (kantor pelayanan pajak/KPP in Indonesian) or another official DGT channel," he said.

Gede reminded taxpayers that they should not wait until the due date has passed. If the tax collection is indeed correct, the taxpayer should make payment promptly. Where the taxpayer has entitlements under applicable provisions, they may use the available mechanisms, such as an application for payments in instalments or payment deferral.

He also highlighted the importance of monitoring the coretax account on a regular basis. In his view, in the coretax era, taxpayers cannot rely solely on physical correspondence to be aware of tax documents or tax bills.

Taxpayers must ensure that the e-mail address and contact data recorded with the DGT are kept up to date so that they can be promptly notified of any obligations requiring follow-up action.

Gede explained that if a tax bill is not settled by the due date, the collection process may proceed in stages. Generally, the basis for collection, such as a notice of tax collection or a notice of tax underpayment assessment (surat ketetapan pajak kurang bayar/SKPKB in Indonesian), carries a settlement period of 1 month from the date of issuance.

If the debt remains unpaid by the due date, the DGT may issue a reprimand letter. Should the tax liability remain unsettled after the reprimand letter is issued, the process may continue with the issuance and service of a distress warrant by a tax bailiff.

The subsequent stages may involve confiscation and auction of confiscated assets if the tax liability remains unpaid pursuant to the applicable provisions.

Nevertheless, he emphasised that the primary objective of tax collection is not to carry out confiscation or an auction, but rather to encourage taxpayers to settle their obligations.

"The sooner a taxpayer responds to the tax collection, the simpler the resolution will be," he added. (dik)