Attorney General's Office Summons Seven Bali Provincial Officials Over Suboptimal Foreign Tourist Levy Collection

Bali Governor Wayan Koster has confirmed that several heads of regional agencies within the Bali Provincial Government have been summoned by the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia. The summons relate to the Foreign Tourist Levy (Pungutan Wisatawan Asing, PWA) programme.

Koster emphasised that the summons was not for investigating suspected violations, but rather a request for information and data regarding the implementation of the policy. “It is correct (there was a summons), but not for testimony—rather for information and data. I have already received a telephone call from the Attorney General’s Office, and indeed the Attorney General’s Office is helping us,” Koster said in Denpasar on Monday, 16 March.

Previously, reports circulated that the Attorney General’s Office had summoned several Bali officials following allegations of misappropriation of funds from the foreign tourist levy. Koster explained that the Attorney General’s Office actually provided recommendations to enable PWA management to run more optimally.

Since the levy of Rp150,000 was implemented in 2024, receipts collected over the year reached Rp318 billion—equivalent to approximately 32% of the total 6.3 million foreign tourist arrivals to Bali during that period. Entering 2025, the Bali Provincial Government recorded PWA receipts of Rp368 billion, representing approximately 34% of the total 7 million foreign tourist visits to the island.

“So it has increased, but remains suboptimal. However, there is no corruption whatsoever, because payment is made digitally—there is no cash involved. The funds go directly to a BPD Bali account, which is recorded directly in the regional treasury,” Koster said.

Koster emphasised that the levy payment system operates entirely digitally, ensuring funds are deposited directly into the Bank BPD Bali account and automatically recorded in the regional budget. With this mechanism, the risk of irregularities such as corruption is minimised. “It is transparent—whatever is received at BPD goes into the regional treasury. The funds are now used for cultural and environmental protection, all in line with these two elements: traditional villages, tourism, infrastructure, environment including waste management,” the PDI Perjuangan politician stated.

Funds from the PWA are used to support the protection of Bali’s culture and environment, including development of traditional villages, the tourism sector, infrastructure development, and environmental and waste management.

In its evaluation, the Attorney General’s Office questioned why the collection remained suboptimal compared to the millions of foreign tourist arrivals to the island annually. Responding to this, the Bali Provincial Government cited a major constraint: the failure to involve immigration authorities in the levy collection process.

According to Koster, the regional government cannot simply involve immigration because the local regulation governing the PWA does not specify cooperation with that agency. A higher legal basis is therefore required, such as government regulations, presidential regulations, or ministerial regulations. “Why is collection not optimal? It is because of immigration involvement. That is what must be resolved—not arguing about unrelated matters. What we must settle is how to involve immigration in the levy collection process,” said Governor Koster.

In the Attorney General’s Office’s process of requesting data, Koster stated that seven heads of regional agencies were asked to provide information. Several came from the Bali Civil Service Police, the Bali Provincial Budget and Finance Office, the regional government’s legal bureau, the Bali Provincial Tax Office, and the Bali Provincial Tourism Office. He confirmed that all relevant officials had responded to the summons and the process had proceeded smoothly.

According to Koster, the summons was actually part of the Attorney General’s Office’s effort to assist the regional government in ensuring the foreign tourist levy collection programme operates more effectively and optimally.