DGT: Marketplace Tax Delay Aims to Protect Public Purchasing Power

The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) at the Ministry of Finance has stated that the postponement of Income Tax (PPh) Article 22 collection on transactions through marketplace platforms is intended to protect public purchasing power.

“This delay in implementation is an effort to safeguard public purchasing power amid economic conditions that remain a concern for the government,” said Inge Diana Rismawanti, Director of Tax Counselling, Services and Public Relations at the DGT, in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.

The implementation of Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 37 of 2025, which serves as the legal basis for the marketplace tax collection plan, has been postponed until 31 October 2026. The collection of PPh Article 22 under this regulation will take effect on 1 November 2026.

Accordingly, Inge said, the Director General of Taxes’ decision designating marketplaces as PPh Article 22 collectors that has already been issued will be revoked and a new designation will be made.

In addition, PPh Article 22 that has already been collected by marketplaces from domestic sellers in connection with the previously issued designation will be refunded by the marketplaces to the domestic sellers.

“This postponement does not change the substance of the policy, but merely delays its implementation,” Inge said.

The delay in implementing the policy was previously announced by Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa.

In a media briefing in Jakarta on Wednesday (5/8), Purbaya said the reason for delaying the implementation of tax collection through marketplaces was to first wait for economic conditions and public purchasing power to improve.

“We will postpone it for now. I have always said that we should wait until purchasing power and the economy have improved,” Purbaya said.

As part of the implementation of PMK 37/2025, the DGT has designated four marketplace companies as tax collectors, namely Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada and Blibli.

Under the scheme, marketplaces will collect PPh Article 22 at a rate of 0.5 percent of the seller’s gross turnover, which is the transaction value excluding Value Added Tax (VAT) and Sales Tax on Luxury Goods (STLG).

The mechanism works as follows: consumers make payments through the marketplace. The marketplace then collects PPh Article 22 on the seller’s income, issues an invoice, remits the collection to the state treasury and reports it through the Unified PPh Periodic Tax Return.

However, the collection only applies to sellers with annual turnover or gross revenue above Rp500 million.