MoF Reg. 71/2026 Revises Tax Payment Calculation for Penalty Reduction
JAKARTA, DDTCNews - The government has revised the format for calculating tax payments when a taxpayer applies for reduction or nullification of penalties. This topic is among those covered by the national media today, Friday (9/10/2026).
Under MoF Reg. 71/2026, a taxpayer must first settle the outstanding tax principal as one of the conditions for applying for reduction of tax penalties/fines, including for L&B Tax-P5L.
This implies that tax payments are first set off against the amount of tax unpaid or underpaid, or the tax principal unpaid or underpaid. Under the previous regulation, MoF Reg. 118/2024, tax payments were allocated proportionally between the tax principal and penalties.
"The payment for the notice of tax assessment (surat ketetapan pajak/SKP in Indonesian), notice of tax collection (surat tagihan pajak/STP in Indonesian), notice of L&B Tax assessment or notice of L&B Tax collection shall be first set off against the amount of tax that is not or is underpaid, the principal amount or difference in the principal amount of L&B Tax or the amount of L&B Tax that is not or is underpaid...," reads Article 23 paragraph (6) of MoF Reg. 71/2026.
In simple terms, where a taxpayer has a tax principal plus penalties/fines, payments will be prioritised towards reducing or settling the outstanding tax principal.
MoF Reg. 71/2026 also provides that where a tax payment exceeds the outstanding principal, the excess shall be applied against the administrative penalty or the L&B Tax-P5L fine.
In line with this change to the calculation mechanism, the government has also revised the tax payment calculation format, which is now set out in Appendix C.2 of MoF Reg. 71/2026.
"The calculation method...shall be as per the examples listed in Appendix Letter C, which constitutes an integral part of this Ministerial Regulation," reads Article 23 paragraph (9) of MoF Reg. 71/2026.
In view of the revised tax payment calculation mechanism, taxpayers need to ensure that applications for the nullification of administrative penalties or reduction of administrative tax fines, including data and information on the calculation of the amount of tax due as well as the reduction of penalties/fines requested by the taxpayer, shall comply with the format in Appendix C of MoF Reg. 71/2026.
As the format has been revised, tax calculations no longer use a proportional mechanism as under the previous regulation.
In addition to the above topic, there is also coverage of findings by the Audit Board (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan/BPK in Indonesian) relating to the utilisation of tax holidays. Further discussions include the tax competency examination, new cigarette tax rules, tax refunds and other matters.
The following is a review of other tax articles.
BPK: 2 Entrepreneurs Found Ineligible for Tax Holiday
Through its Semi-Annual Overview of Audit Findings (IHPS) I/2026, the Audit Board (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan/BPK in Indonesian) disclosed findings relating to the granting of tax holidays and tax allowances.
BPK found that 2 entrepreneurs received tax holiday and tax allowance facilities despite having been in commercial production since before the facilities were applied for. This arose because the Ministry of Investment and Downstream Industry/BKPM failed to verify the completeness of data on the estimated date of start of commercial production.
"In respect of the granting of fiscal investment facilities, tax holidays and tax allowances were granted to 2 entrepreneurs that had already commenced commercial production before applying for facilities, because the Ministry of Investment and Downstream Industry did not verify the completeness of data on the estimated date of start of commercial production (saat mulai berproduksi/SMB in Indonesian)," stated BPK. (DDTCNews)
BPPK Prepares Larger Quota for Tax Competency Examination
The Financial Education and Training Agency (Badan Pendidikan dan Pelatihan Keuangan/BPPK in Indonesian) is preparing a significantly larger participant capacity for the tax competency examination (uji kompetensi perpajakan/UKP in Indonesian) compared with the tax consultant certification examination (ujian sertifikasi konsultan pajak/USKP in Indonesian).
Suyuti, Head of the BPPK Tax Consultant Competency Examination/Certification Working Team, explained that the increased capacity is made possible because the UKP will be conducted entirely online. Examinations will also be sat at each participant's own location.
"Going forward, we will use a fully online examination scheme. We are trying to provide facilitation to enable the examination to be taken anywhere, thereby resolving issues related to quota limitations," said Suyuti. (DDTCNews)
Danantara Dividends Will Not Enter State Treasury
Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, has stated that no dividends from the Daya Anagata Nusantara (Danantara) Investment Management Agency (Badan Pengelola Investasi/BPI in Indonesian) are accounted for as state revenue in the 2026 state budget.
Suahasil revealed that the budget posture and revenue targets in the 2027 state budget, which has just been enacted into law, also do not record dividends from the state-owned enterprise (SOE) superholding as a revenue component of state treasury.
"At present, I am working with the 2026 state budget, which includes no Danantara dividends. I am also working on preparing the 2027 state budget, which likewise includes no Danantara dividends; they are not recorded," he said. (DDTCNews/Kontan)
Use of Cigarette Tax Revenue for Customs and Excise Law Enforcement
Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, has issued a new regulation governing the use of cigarette tax revenue to support law enforcement in the area of customs and excise. The regulation in question is Minister of Finance Regulation (MoF Reg.) 70/2026.
MoF Reg. 70/2026 was promulgated on 8 October 2026 and came into force on the same date. This regulation has been issued to provide guidelines for the use of cigarette tax revenue for law enforcement in the area of customs and excise by the central government.
"To increase customs and excise revenues and safeguard domestic industry, cigarette tax revenues may be used by the central government for law enforcement in the field of customs and excise," reads the consiering section of MoF Reg. 70/2026. (DDTCNews)
Suahasil Urges Coretax and Data to Underpin Tax Revenue
Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, has urged the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) to continue the coretax transformation and to make data the foundation for managing tax revenue.
Suahasil stated that the use of data must be consistently optimised across various tax administration processes. Data is needed not only for reporting and oversight but also to support decision-making and improve taxpayer compliance.
"The coretax transformation must also be continued consistently. Data must be the foundation, from reporting, oversight and decision-making through to improving taxpayer compliance," he said on social media. (DDTCNews)
Tax Refund Realisation Reaches IDR198 Trillion, Down 38.7%
The DGT recorded tax refund realisations of IDR198.71 trillion through September 2026, a decline of 38.7% compared with the same period last year.
DGT Director of Tax Dissemination, Service and Public Relations, Inge Diana Rismawanti, noted that the tax refund realisations through September 2026 are still provisional, as the data reconciliation process is still under way.
By tax type, the largest refunds were derived from VAT and Sales Tax on Luxury Goods (STLGs) at IDR137.79 trillion. This was followed by income tax refunds of IDR59.08 trillion and refunds from other tax types totalling IDR1.84 trillion. (Kontan)