Purbaya Refuses to Be Fooled: Tax Refunds to Businesspeople to Be Re-examined
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa plans to review tax refunds. The policy of refunding overpaid taxes to businesspeople will be tightened because it is suspected to be the main cause of state revenue leaks.
Purbaya stated that the value of refunds disbursed by the state each year is not insignificant. Last year alone, he mentioned, the amount reached around Rp 361.5 trillion, up 35.9% from the 2024 record.
“Last year’s refunds were enormous, Sir. Rp 360 trillion. And the reports to me weren’t very clear. Month to month, how it was. Now it’s starting to be monitored. I suspect there, there’s a bit of leakage,” Purbaya said during a working meeting with House of Representatives Commission XI earlier this week, quoted on Thursday (9/3/2026).
The tightening mechanism for refunds will be carried out through comprehensive audits, especially those related to refunds in the natural resources business sector (SDA). The audit will cover the period from 2020 to 2025.
Purbaya will collaborate with the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) as an external party for the auditing. “Internally, I’m focusing on 2025, and externally, that’s involving BPKP from 2020 to 2025. So I want to see where these things are,” he said.
He explained that the audit is being conducted to identify vulnerable points in the refund system, while ensuring its distribution remains on target.
“So now we’re tightening it. That doesn’t mean we’re stopping refunds, but we’re tightening it so that those who aren’t entitled don’t get refunds,” he stated.
Chairman of Commission XI of the House of Representatives, Mukhamad Misbakhun, said that in a situation that has the potential for crisis, like the current one due to global energy price volatility triggered by warfare in the Middle East, the refund policy could be temporarily stopped to support the government’s fiscal resilience.
“We could get revenue up to Rp 500 trillion just from holding back refunds. Or if necessary, we can say, refunds won’t be paid,” said Misbakhun on the CNBC Indonesia Sqwak Box programme, Wednesday (8/4/2026).
Misbakhun assured that the House of Representatives could even use various regulatory instruments to support the temporary halt of refunds, especially through the enactment of laws. At the technical level, political support could also be provided by the House if a ministerial regulation on the refund halt policy needs to be issued.
“If the backing is through law, we can do it via law. If the backing is at the ministerial regulation level, we can issue a different ministerial regulation,” said Misbakhun.