Syndicate Sells 4 Million Counterfeit Duty Stamps, Rakes in Rp 40 Billion Turnover

The Directorate General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance has revealed that a syndicate producing counterfeit duty stamps has sold four million counterfeit stamps. The syndicate generated turnover of up to Rp 40 billion.

“We also obtained information that around 4 million duty stamps have been sold with a nominal value of around Rp 40 billion,” said Director General of Taxes Bimo Wijayanto during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (19/8/2026).

Evidence in the form of machinery used to produce the counterfeit stamps was seized. Bimo said the machine could produce 900,000 duty stamps in ten days.

“The machine that was secured is estimated to have a production capacity of around 900,000 stamps within ten days,” he said.

In addition, raw materials for making counterfeit duty stamps were also seized. According to Bimo, if no action had been taken, the syndicate could have produced 33 million duty stamps per roll.

“Based on the results of the joint investigation, the raw materials found are estimated to still be usable to produce more than 33 million duty stamps per roll. This means that if this activity had not been stopped, the potential loss of state revenue could have reached around Rp 1 trillion,” he said.

Previously, the Directorate General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance revealed the modus operandi of the production syndicate in producing millions of counterfeit duty stamps. Several modus operandi were used.

“From the results of the disclosure, the methods used were quite varied. There are stamps that were indeed produced from scratch using raw materials to be sold resembling genuine stamps,” said Director General of Taxes Bimo Wijayanto during a press conference in Jakarta.

There were also used stamps that were reused. The stamps had signs showing they had already been used removed.

“There are also stamps that had already been used and were then reconditioned to remove signs of their use so they could be sold again,” he explained.

He revealed that the sale of counterfeit duty stamps was carried out directly. In addition, sales were also made through marketplaces or online.

“Sales were not only through physical shops, but also through marketplaces. This is a concern for us because current trading patterns have indeed changed, and illegal products are also taking advantage of the convenience of digital channels to reach consumers more widely,” he said.

“Therefore, we are also carrying out supervision patterns together with law enforcement officials and continuing to adapt to the modus operandi,” he added.