Government Prepares New Tax Refund Regulations
The government is currently preparing a new policy concept for the refund of tax overpayments, or restitusi, targeted to apply from 1 May 2026. This regulation will subsequently be signed by Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa.
“The right to restitusi, we fully understand that restitusi is actually the right of the taxpayer. Of course, we will not withhold it ourselves if it is indeed the right of the taxpayer,” said Director of Outreach, Services, and Public Relations of the Directorate General of Taxes, Inge Diana Rismawanti, when met in Nganjuk, East Java, on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
Inge stated that the fundamental change in the restitusi policy will be directed towards improving the accelerated restitusi scheme. According to her, this scheme will be strengthened but focused only on taxpayers who are proven compliant in fulfilling their obligations. Preliminary refunds or fast restitusi are being targeted to be more precise, so they are only given to taxpayers with a good compliance level.
This policy plan is outlined in the Draft Minister of Finance Regulation (RPMK) on the Procedure for Preliminary Refund of Tax Overpayments, which has been submitted to the Ministry of Law of the Republic of Indonesia.
Quoting the Directorate General of Legislation website, the RPMK will revoke and replace several previous regulations related to the preliminary refund of tax overpayments and is planned to take effect from 1 May 2026.
The Directorate General of Legislation (DJPP) previously held a Harmonisation, Rounding, and Concept Finalisation Meeting for the RPMK on 10–11 April 2026 virtually, as a follow-up to the harmonisation conducted on 6 April 2026.
In the draft regulation, one of the main points regulated is the mechanism for examining taxpayer applications, which will serve as the basis for the Director General of Taxes in determining whether a preliminary refund can be granted.
If the examination results show that formal requirements are met and there is a tax overpayment, the Director General of Taxes may issue a Decision Letter for the Preliminary Refund of Excess Tax. Conversely, the application may be rejected if it does not meet the provisions or there are certain conditions, such as being under tax examination or in the process of law enforcement.
The RPMK also regulates the time limit for settling restitusi applications, namely a maximum of three months for Income Tax and one month for Value Added Tax since the application is received.