Warding Off Global Pressures, Bahlil and Purbaya Seek New Revenue Sources for Indonesia
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia, together with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, is coordinating to formulate new policies aimed at generating fresh revenue for the state. This is the government’s effort to confront uncertainties stemming from current global economic pressures.
Bahlil revealed that one alternative revenue source under consideration is the imposition of export duties. These would target downstream mineral products, such as Nickel Pig Iron (NPI), as well as coal commodities.
“Because we are in this kind of national situation, we must seek many alternative sources of revenue. One of them is because we are pushing for the imposition of export taxes on downstream products. Like NPI, a nickel product, we are calculating the formulation for the tax imposition,” said Bahlil when met at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Jakarta, on Friday (27/3/2026).
He emphasised his agreement with Purbaya on the urgency of finding reliable new revenue sources for the state coffers amid the current geopolitical situation.
“I agree with the Ministry of Finance that it is important for us to seek good sources of state revenue in order to face global pressures that are becoming more unpredictable day by day,” he added.
Nevertheless, Bahlil assured that the implementation of export taxes, particularly for coal, would not be rushed. The initial plan for imposition, which had been rumoured to take effect at the beginning of this month, has been postponed as the government still needs to refine the technical details.
This postponement is based on the fact that the majority of Indonesia’s coal production is low-calorie. According to Bahlil, high-calorie coal, which commands a high price, only accounts for 10% of total production, while 60-70% of the remainder is low-calorie coal.
“For coal exports, we have decided to proceed with greater caution. We agree to increase state revenue, but we must also be careful in implementing export taxes. So, we must not make mistaken policies,” explained Bahlil.
On that occasion, Bahlil assured that communication between the two ministries is proceeding smoothly, and the regulations will be issued soon after the study is completed.
“We just communicated earlier. So, don’t map out any conflict between me and Mr Purbaya. We are still in communication,” he concluded.