Academics say the establishment of PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia could curb under-invoicing practices

Policy to form a state-owned entity under the supervision of Danantara Indonesia can certainly strengthen national economic sovereignty.

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Syafrudin Karimi, an economist at Andalas University, said that government policy to form PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI) could secure strategic commodities to curb under-invoicing practices. In doing so, the state can strengthen export governance alongside national economic sovereignty.

‘The policy of creating a state entity under the supervision of Danantara Indonesia can certainly strengthen national economic sovereignty. The government must build a system that is transparent, accountable, and oriented to the public interest,’ said Syafrudin in Jakarta on Friday.

Syafrudin noted that so far, exports of major commodities such as coal, palm oil, and others have often been conducted without tight supervision, leading to frequent under-invoicing.

However in practice, he urged that Danantara Indonesia and the government should remain transparent about price setting, public audits, producer protection, and independent monitoring. His hope is that the new entity’s presence does not become a monopoly.

‘If the entity opens data, safeguards producer prices, monitors foreign exchange (devisa), and limits the space for rent-seeking intermediaries, then this policy could become an instrument of economic sovereignty,’ he said.

Syafrudin described the rationale for creating the new entity as broadly aimed at eradicating under-invoicing, which is fiscally very damaging. The practice of under-invoicing, he said, harms the country because the export value is lower than market prices. As a result, taxes, state revenue, trade data, and export foreign exchange have been distorted for years.

With the arrival of DS, he hopes it will help the state strengthen transfer pricing audits, integrate customs, tax, banking, port, and export-contract data for risk-based checks. Such a step, he believes, could close space for manipulation without directly stifling the role of private exporters.

‘Restriction via a new state entity is worth considering if the government can prove that national losses are very large, and the new entity has superior technical capacity,’ said Syafrudin.

Earlier at a press conference, Rosan Roeslani, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Danantara Indonesia, stated that the formation of PT DSI aimed to strengthen transparency in transactions for national natural resource exports.

The formation of the entity, according to Rosan, is a follow-up to President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to improve the governance of natural resource commodity trade to be more open and accountable.

‘To date, based on data presented by the President from the World Bank, the extent of under-invoicing and transfer pricing on our commodities has been so high,’ said Rosan.

Rosan, who is also Minister of Investment and Industry/Head of BKPM, also cited the high levels of under-invoicing and transfer pricing on several Indonesian export commodities over the years. These practices have affected government revenues in terms of taxation, royalties, foreign exchange, and have undermined the validity of national trade data, which has long been a concern for the government.

‘Therefore, Danantara has formed PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia as a platform that will oversee the openness of export transactions, from volume and price to the mechanism of commodity shipments,’ Rosan said.