Purbaya states there remains opposition to coal export duty

Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that there remains opposition to the policy of imposing an export duty tariff on coal, which is preventing the implementation of this regulation until now.

“There is still protest, that’s all,” Purbaya said when confirmed by journalists at the Finance Ministry office in Jakarta on Friday.

Nevertheless, he indicated that the government would soon address these obstacles to enable the policy to be implemented.

“We will sort it out,” he said.

The imposition of coal export duty was originally scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026.

On a previous occasion, Purbaya stated that the export duty tariff on coal would range between 5 and 11 per cent with several adjustment levels still under discussion.

Speaking after the inauguration of members of the National Energy Council at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (28 January), Purbaya said that the coal export duty regulation had entered the legislative drafting phase.

He assured that the government is finalising the coal export duty regulation as part of efforts to optimise state revenue from the natural resources sector.

Additionally, Purbaya urged that the coal export duty policy be applied retroactively, arguing that this scheme would enable the state to obtain significant additional revenue.

Regarding business responses, Purbaya emphasised that the government is not in a position to negotiate with businesspeople.

Purbaya considered this policy part of the government’s effort to improve natural resource management to deliver greater benefits to the country and society.

Implementation of coal export duty is necessary to offset the substantial value-added tax (VAT) refunds from the coal industry, which have been assessed as placing pressure on fiscal capacity.

VAT refunds to the coal industry reach approximately Rp25 trillion per year. The scale of these refunds is considered to have caused state revenue from the coal sector to decline and could even turn negative after accounting for various other tax obligations.

The export duty instrument is being prepared not only to increase state revenue but also to encourage downstream industrialisation and decarbonisation, the mechanisms of which are currently being finalised with relevant ministries.