Discussions on Fees for Replacing Physical ID Cards: Between Cost Savings and Unprepared Digitalisation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Amid the government’s strong push for Digital Population Identity (IKD), current administrative services are still operating conventionally. People in various regions must still present physical Identity Cards (KTP), submit photocopies of identification, and handle documents manually when accessing public or non-public services. Recently, Deputy Interior Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto floated the idea of a fine for citizens who lose their electronic ID cards. Lately, he emphasised that the levy is not a fine, but rather the cost of reprinting lost identity cards. “The issue that’s being criticised is the word ‘fine’, right, fine. Actually, what’s meant is the cost of a new print. So the first one is free, but if it’s a new print, a fee is charged, something like that. Cost of new printing. So perhaps that’s a more accurate definition,” Bima Arya told reporters on Thursday (23/4/2026). Meanwhile, the reprinting cost of Rp 10,000 per card has so far been borne by the state. Procurement of blanko up to Rp 225 billion. In 2024-2025 alone, the Ministry of Home Affairs has budgeted Rp 224-225 billion for procuring around 22 million electronic KTP blanko sheets, assuming a price of Rp 10,187 per sheet. If the number of lost electronic KTPs reaches 1.5 million people per year, the Ministry of Home Affairs would need to dig deeper into its pockets. “So then it would require spending another around Rp 15 billion. That’s why there was a suggestion that for those whose e-KTP is lost due to negligence, a fine would be imposed, which is actually a replacement for the e-KTP blanko,” explained Teguh to Kompas.com on Saturday (25/4/2026). Teguh emphasised that the reprinting fee would only apply to electronic KTPs lost due to the owner’s negligence. Therefore, he hopes that with the planned implementation of the fine, the public can be more responsible and careful in keeping or storing population documents. He stated that the reprinting fee would not apply to electronic KTPs lost due to disasters such as floods, landslides, fires, and accidents. Furthermore, he added, the proposal will not be implemented in the near future. The government and the House of Representatives (DPR RI) need to sit together to revise Law Number 24 of 2013 on Population Administration (Adminduk).