Government postpones marketplace tax implementation

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

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the government is postponing the implementation of tax collection through marketplaces, which was previously planned to take effect in August 2026.

“Then there is the online (marketplace) tax; perhaps we will postpone it, so it will not begin running in August (2026),” Purbaya said at a press conference at the Finance Ministry office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Purbaya explained that the reason for delaying the implementation of tax collection through marketplaces is to wait for economic conditions and the public’s purchasing power to improve.

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

Previously, the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) at the Ministry of Finance announced that tax collection through marketplaces would take effect from 1 August 2026.

Director General of Taxes Bimo Wijayanto said his office would provide a one-month transition period to the four marketplace companies appointed as tax collectors so they could adjust their systems before beginning collection from sellers.

The four appointed marketplaces are Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada and Blibli.

The arrangement is governed by Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 37 of 2025 concerning the appointment of electronic system trading (PMSE) operators as collectors of Article 22 Income Tax (PPh).

Under the scheme, marketplaces will collect Article 22 Income Tax of 0.5 per cent of sellers’ gross turnover, namely the transaction value excluding Value Added Tax (VAT) and Luxury Goods Sales Tax (PPnBM).

The mechanism works as follows: the consumer makes payment through the marketplace. The marketplace then collects Article 22 Income Tax on the seller’s income, issues an invoice, deposits the collection into the state treasury and reports it through the Unified Periodic Income Tax Return (SPT).

Nevertheless, Bimo explained that the collection only applies to sellers with turnover or gross revenue above Rp500 million in a single year.

“For example, if a trader sells goods worth Rp2,000,000 through a marketplace, the Article 22 Income Tax collected is 0.5% x Rp2,000,000 = Rp10,000. That Rp10,000 in tax is not an additional standalone tax,” Bimo explained.