Finance Minister Purbaya Gains Confidence Discussing Customs and Tax Performance with President Prabowo

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has acknowledged feeling drained when discussing the performance of Customs and the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) with President Prabowo Subianto and other cabinet ministers, given the critical scrutiny both directorates have faced from the head of state and ministerial colleagues.

Purbaya stated that in various meetings with ministerial staff, President Prabowo has been saying he is confident the government can improve the Customs Directorate and support high state revenue requirements alongside the DGT.

“The President said: I can see there is improvement there and I am confident we can improve Customs so it does not need to be handed over to SGS,” Purbaya said.

He acknowledged that he is now more confident facing the head of state and other ministers when they begin discussing these two institutions, as he previously always felt frustrated.

“Usually when I go to a palace meeting and they start talking about Customs and Taxes, I just feel weak. But that is extraordinary recognition – we haven’t achieved the goal yet but progress is already being seen, and that is because of the hard work of Djaka (Customs Director General) and his team,” Purbaya explained.

According to Purbaya, Prabowo now believes the Customs Directorate has improved. This represents a shift from Prabowo’s earlier position, when he wanted to dissolve Customs and replace it with the Swiss private company Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), following the approach taken during the New Order era.

“There is progress in Customs. I only recently learned this – a few weeks ago I had a meeting at the Palace with the President. He always used to say ‘Disband Customs, replace it with SGS,’ always that,” said Purbaya.

“Yesterday it was different. Initially I thought we would have to replace Customs with SGS, but it turned out there is improvement,” he added.

Purbaya emphasised that similar praise has also been directed towards tax officials now under the command of Tax Director General Bimo Wijayanto. He said the head of state feels very confident about continuing to boost revenue collection after tax contributions in January-February 2026 grew by 30%.

“I thought taxes couldn’t be improved, but after being pushed hard in January and February they rose by 30%. That is what the president said in front of leaders across Indonesia. So this is teamwork – everyone moving together – but what they are targeting is taxes and customs because that is revenue,” he concluded.