NTB Corn Farmers Demand Rp 4 Billion Tax Restitution, Bulog Responds
State logistics firm Perum Bulog has responded to complaints from corn farmers in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) regarding an additional income tax levy of 1.5 percent on the government purchase price (HPP). The farmers are demanding restitution of the tax payments, which they claim total Rp 4 billion.
Rizal P Sukmaadijaya, Deputy Regional Head of Perum Bulog for NTB, confirmed that the policy has been overhauled as of 21 May 2026. He stated that purchases of shelled corn from farmers are now free from the 1.5 percent Income Tax Article 22 deduction. “Effective from 21 May 2026 onwards, all corn procurement transactions at Perum Bulog NTB are no longer subject to the 1.5 percent PPh Pasal 22,” Rizal said in a statement on Thursday (25/6/2026).
Rizal assured that the money already paid by farmers has been deposited into the state treasury. Bulog NTB will facilitate the tax refund process. “We had a hearing with the Governor yesterday. So, the Provincial Agriculture Office and Perum Bulog NTB will first consolidate the data,” he explained. The total tax collected from farmer groups across districts and cities will be compiled, and a restitution request will be submitted to the Directorate General of Taxes.
Rizal added that Bulog is currently purchasing shelled corn at the government purchase price of Rp 6,400 per kilogram. As of 23 June 2026, Bulog has recorded the absorption of 55,000 tonnes of corn from across NTB.
Previously, representatives of corn farmers from Lombok and Sumbawa visited the NTB Governor’s Office on Wednesday (24/6) to complain about the additional 1.5 percent income tax deduction imposed by Perum Bulog NTB. Kamsiah, Chairperson of the NTB People’s Aspiration and Appeal Institute (LASER), urged the provincial government to advocate for the restitution. She estimated the value of the deductions ranged from Rp 700 million to Rp 1 billion per collection period. “This only started in 2025 and there have been three or four deduction periods. So, we can say the total has reached more than Rp 4 billion. This is very burdensome for farmers,” Kamsiah stated.
Kamsiah noted that farmers already bear numerous costs, including land and building tax, taxes on seed and pesticide purchases, and zakat obligations for Muslims. NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal asserted that food commodities such as corn and rice should be exempt from Value Added Tax. He pledged to coordinate with district and city governments to realise the refund. According to Iqbal, the provincial government has agreed with regents and mayors to collect restitution claims for taxes already paid by Bulog to the tax office. “The important thing is that this situation does not happen again in the future. Our focus now is to restitute what has already been collected,” Iqbal stressed.