DGT: Tax Refunds Cannot Be Disbursed Arbitrarily, Here Are the Reasons
JAKARTA, DDTCNews - The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has affirmed that the disbursement of tax refunds must be carried out prudently and must go through a series of examination and audit stages beforehand. This topic is one of the subjects reviewed by the national media today, Tuesday (10/11/2026).
Inge Diana Rismawanti, Director of Tax Dissemination, Service and Public Relations at the DGT, said that such measures are not intended to hinder taxpayers, but rather to ensure that tax refunds are properly targeted and disbursed only to taxpayers entitled to them.
"Releasing funds that have already entered the state treasury does not imply we will make it difficult for taxpayers to obtain their entitlements. Nevertheless, we must act prudently, we must conduct examinations and audits, so that refunds are indeed given only to those who are genuinely entitled," she said.
Inge explained that the General Provisions and Tax Procedures (GPTP) Law provides that the tax authority is entitled to audit an application for tax refunds. In addition, the DGT is authorised to issue a notice of tax assessment within a specified period after an application is completely received.
She also noted that there are several circumstances that may lead a taxpayer to apply for a tax refund. For instance, the income tax that has been paid or withheld may turn out to be greater than the amount of income tax payable.
"The same applies to VAT. An overpayment arises when the input VAT credited is greater than the output VAT, and this is shown or filed in the form of a periodic VAT return," said Inge.
Inge affirmed that the DGT is endeavouring to accelerate the disbursement of tax refunds to taxpayers more quickly without having to go through a full audit, whilst still proceeding prudently. In line with this, the DGT has implemented an accelerated refund mechanism, known as preliminary tax refunds.
The latest technical provisions and requirements concerning accelerated refunds are now governed by MoF Reg. 28/2026. There are 3 groups of taxpayers that may obtain accelerated refunds, namely taxpayers with certain criteria; taxpayers that fulfil certain requirements; and low-risk taxable persons.
"It is for this reason that a policy has been enacted whereby taxpayers may apply for preliminary tax refunds, although we at the DGT still retain the right to conduct audits," Inge concluded.
In addition to this news, there is a review of plans to expand the coverage of the government-borne (ditanggung pemerintah/DTP in Indonesian) Article 21 Income Tax facility in 2027. Further, there is also a discussion surrounding applications for reduction of administrative tax penalties, which is limited to 2 times.
The following is a full review of the tax articles.
Why Accelerated Refunds for Low-Risk PKPS Are More Selective
The DGT has explained the reasons behind the increasingly stringent accelerated refund process for low-risk taxable persons (pengusaha kena pajak/PKP in Indonesian). Through MoF Reg. 28/2026, it is affirmed that the criteria for classification as a low-risk taxable person are fulfilled when 80% of the total supplies by the taxable person in question consist of exports of taxable goods/services, supplies of taxable goods/services to VAT collection agents and/or supplies of taxable goods/services on which VAT is not collected.
Head of the Sub-Directorate of Industrial VAT Regulations, Endro Tribudi Setijanto, said that this new requirement was added through MoF Reg. 28/2026 to prevent abuse of the accelerated refund facilities. "Taxpayers were circumventing this. In reality, they were not exporters, but they would export just 1–2 items so as to meet the criteria. Therefore, in MoF Reg. 28/2026 we made an adjustment," said Endro.
Endro noted that export activities can indeed give rise to overpayments and refunds given that exports are subject to VAT at 0% and the input VAT associated with those exports may be credited by the taxable person. However, if the business activities conducted by a taxable person are not predominantly export-oriented, the overpayment arising from export activities should not be significant. (DDTCNews)
Salaries of 7.54 Million Employees to Be Tax-Free in 2027
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto estimates that the government-borne (ditanggung pemerintah/DTP in Indonesian) Article 21 Income Tax could be utilised by approximately 7.54 million eligible workers in 2027, namely those earning a salary not exceeding IDR10 million per month.
Airlangga explained that, as in 2026, the government-borne Article 21 Income Tax incentive in 2027 will target workers with a maximum gross income of IDR10 million per month. By comparison, the government-borne Article 21 Income Tax incentive in 2026 was provided only to workers in the footwear, textile and apparel, furniture, leather and leather goods and tourism industries.
Meanwhile, the government-borne Article 21 Income Tax incentive in 2027 is designed to cover workers across all business sectors. Where the criteria are satisfied, the take-home pay received by workers will be higher. (DDTCNews, Kontan, Bisnis Indonesia)
DGT Limits Applications for Penalty Reduction to 2 Times
Taxpayers may apply for reduction of administrative penalties (pengurangan sanksi administrasi/PSA in Indonesian) up to a maximum of 2 times. This limit applies in respect of a single notice of tax assessment (surat ketetapan pajak/SKP in Indonesian) or notice of tax collection (surat tagihan pajak/STP in Indonesian).
Nevertheless, the opportunity to resubmit a PSA application in respect of the same notice of tax collection or notice of tax assessment is not available without restriction. Pursuant to the provisions under MoF Reg. 118/2024, as amended by MoF Reg. 71/2026, a taxpayer may submit such an application no later than 3 months from the date on which the decision letter on the first application was sent.
Accordingly, once a decision has been issued on the first application, the taxpayer still has the opportunity to submit a second application. This opportunity also applies where the previous decision rejected the taxpayer's application. (DDTCNews)
Marketplace Sales Returns: Additional Withholding Receipt to Be Issued
Any amendment or return in a transaction conducted through a marketplace will give rise to an obligation to prepare an additional withholding receipt.
Referring to the FAQ on MoF Reg. 37/2025, the document equivalent to an additional withholding receipt takes the form of an amendment document or a cancellation document.
"If the amendment or cancellation of a tax collection document causes the withholding tax (WHT) to be greater than the correct amount, the domestic merchant is required to prepare collection documents equivalent to an additional withholding receipt," the DGT stated in the FAQ. (DDTCNews)
SPP-TDLN to Be Extended to 30 Private Banks and Non-Bank Institutions
The implementation of the (sistem pemungutan pajak atas transaksi digital luar negeri/SPP-TDLN in Indonesian) will be extended to 30 private banks and private non-bank financial institutions.
To support the expansion of SPP-TDLN implementation, PT Jalin Pembayaran Nusantara (Jalin), as the system operator, is providing technical assistance to banks and non-bank financial institutions during the system stabilisation process. The expansion of SPP-TDLN implementation to private banks and non-bank financial institutions takes into account the system readiness of each institution.
"In its capacity as operator of the SPP-TDLN, PT Jalin continues to coordinate and provide technical assistance to issuers through the system development and stabilisation stages," said VP Corporate Secretary of PT Jalin, Putu Agnia. (DDTCNews) (dik)