Hutama Karya Responds to Toll Road VAT Proposal
PT Hutama Karya is still awaiting clarification from the government regarding the plan to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on toll road tariffs. Hutama Karya Director Koentjoro stated that to date, there has been no detailed technical guidance from the government.
According to him, the Ministry of Finance has only provided initial information on the plan. As a toll road business entity (BUJT), Hutama Karya will follow the policy that the government ultimately establishes. “We are still waiting for further instructions from the government regarding the plan,” Koentjoro said after a press conference at HK Tower, East Jakarta, on Wednesday, 22 April 2026.
He added that the company has not yet been able to assess the impact of the policy on tariffs or operations. Hutama Karya will first study the regulations issued before taking further steps, including providing input to the government if necessary.
The plan to impose VAT on toll road services is outlined in the Decision of the Director General of Taxes Number KEP-252/PJ/2025 on the Strategic Plan of the Directorate General of Taxes 2025-2029. In the document, the implementation of VAT on toll services is targeted to begin in 2028.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the regulation is still in the discussion process to date. “It hasn’t been finalised yet, it’s been 10 years,” Purbaya said.
A similar policy was actually implemented in 2015 through the Regulation of the Director General of Taxes Number PER-10/PJ/2015, which designated toll road services as Taxable Services (JKP). However, the regulation was subsequently revoked in the same year via PER-16/PJ/2015 after sparking controversy in society and raising concerns about disrupting the investment climate in the toll road sector.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Empowered Consumers Forum (FKBI) Tulus Abadi views the plan to impose VAT on toll roads as inappropriate. According to him, toll roads remain part of public infrastructure that is the government’s responsibility. “Imposing VAT on toll roads is a form of double taxation,” he said in a written statement.
He explained that toll tariffs are essentially a form of levy or retribution, so they should not be subject to additional taxes. Moreover, this policy has the potential for broad impacts, particularly on logistics costs.
Tulus warned that tariff increases due to VAT could drive up goods distribution costs, ultimately burdening consumers. This contradicts the government’s efforts to reduce national logistics costs, which remain relatively high.
On the other hand, he assessed that the policy could erode the financial performance of toll road operators. This is because some toll road sections in Indonesia still have suboptimal traffic volumes, while the investment payback period (internal rate of return/IRR) is relatively long.