Purbaya Ready to Crack Down on Illegal Exporters, Numbers Out of Control

The Indonesian government is continuing to formulate regulations to underpin the implementation of an export duty on coal, with the dual aim of preventing illegal export activities that have persisted thus far.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that this export duty instrument will provide access for the Directorate General of Customs and Excise to directly inspect exporters’ goods before they leave the port or customs area.

“The key point is that once the export duty is applied, the goods can be inspected by customs. So, I want to crack down on under-invoicing and illegal exports. Previously, we couldn’t intervene,” Purbaya said at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta, as quoted on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

Nevertheless, Purbaya once again could not confirm when the government will implement the coal export duty. He has also not yet finalised calculations for the tariff rate and the potential revenue, especially given the current surge in commodity prices.

“But the important thing is that I can get involved, my customs officers can inspect before the goods depart. So under-invoicing won’t happen anymore, nor smuggling or anything like that. It will be much more controlled. Previously, it was out of control; we couldn’t get in,” he explained.

Previously, the Director General of Minerals and Coal (Dirjen Minerba) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Tri Winarno, said that the plan to impose the export duty is still in the discussion stage.

The government is considering various regulatory options to ensure the policy hits the right targets for both industry and the state.

“It’s still under discussion,” he said when met at the RI House of Representatives building in Jakarta on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

The government is also continuing to evaluate several alternative policies that have previously been socialised to mining business actors, including other options to generate state revenue from the minerals and coal sector.

“I’m saying there are other options as well. Other options that we socialised previously,” he emphasised.