Indonesian Army Denies Tax Collection Role, Clarifies Babinsa Involvement

The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) has stressed that it is not tasked with collecting taxes or taking action against citizens who fail to pay. The statement was made by Head of the Army Information Service (Kadispenad) Brigadier General Donny Pramono in Jakarta on Wednesday, responding to issues surrounding the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) involving the TNI AD in tax matters.

Brigadier General Donny explained that the initial mention of TNI involvement stemmed from a DJP Circular Letter. In that letter, village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) and community security and order supervisory non-commissioned officers (Bhabinkamtibmas) were mentioned in the context of building regional information networks.

“We are not being given the authority to supervise, examine, collect, or enforce laws in the field of taxation,” Donny said. He added that the Army has not issued specific orders to soldiers regarding the handling of public taxes. He assessed that the DJP circular was merely part of coordination and collaboration efforts between agencies in carrying out state duties. “For the Army, the duties of Babinsa remain guided by statutory provisions governing territorial development, defence area empowerment, social communication, and regional resilience development,” Donny stated.