Tax Office Partners with Pertamina as First SOE to Adopt Cooperative Compliance

The Directorate General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance is changing its supervision method for large taxpayers by prioritising a collaborative approach over enforcement after violations are found. This new strategy was realised through the implementation of cooperative compliance, beginning with the signing of a Tax Compliance Framework with PT Pertamina (Persero). The agreement makes Pertamina the first state-owned enterprise in the energy sector to implement a trust-based supervision mechanism between the tax authority and the taxpayer. Director General of Taxes Bimo Wijayanto described the implementation of this cooperation as an important step in the transformation of the national tax administration system. “Today’s milestone is the implementation of a cooperative compliance model with a tax compliance framework agreed upon with the largest energy SOE, Pertamina. This is a dream we have long woven together, the first evolution of a modern, trust-based taxation system,” Bimo said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday. He explained that the cooperative compliance concept is built on the principles of mutual trust, information transparency, accountability, and integrity between the Directorate General of Taxes and the taxpayer. Through this approach, both parties are expected to build a more transparent relationship and serve as an example for other state-owned companies. “This is a manifestation not only of transparency but also of accountability and integrity. Both parties are expected to inspire other SOEs,” he said. According to Bimo, the primary goal of the scheme is not merely to pursue additional state revenue, but to ensure the tax authority receives early information regarding corporate transactions or actions that could have tax consequences. This allows potential reporting errors or differences in rule interpretation to be minimised from the outset. For instance, when Pertamina undertakes business expansion or new investments, the tax office should already be aware of the information, preventing future compliance issues. Nonetheless, Bimo estimated that the implementation of this model could help maintain Pertamina’s tax contribution in the range of Rp 400 trillion to Rp 500 trillion annually, in line with the company’s growing business activities. “Specifically for Pertamina, we can roughly calculate that if revenue is stable, but this year it will certainly increase, it will be at least between Rp 400 trillion and Rp 500 trillion a year, because we see a lot of business development and investment being carried out by Pertamina. However, the main point is not the revenue target,” Bimo stated. “The main point is that there are no more sudden surprises if there are transactions resulting from investments or business developments unknown to the Directorate General of Taxes, or that Pertamina might forget to report,” he added. Going forward, the tax authority will expand the implementation of cooperative compliance to several other SOEs, including PT PLN (Persero) and PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo). After that, a similar scheme will also be offered to private companies, particularly multinational holding groups that have already adopted the model in OECD member countries.