Finance Minister Says 0.5% E-Commerce Tax Necessary for Fair Competition

Detailed summary

Indonesia defends its 0.5% marketplace tax collection as a means of ensuring fair competition between online and conventional retailers.

Jakarta. Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said on Friday that collecting income tax from merchants selling through e-commerce platforms was necessary despite the relatively low rate, arguing that the policy would help create fairer competition between online businesses and conventional retailers.

Suahasil said businesses operating through different sales channels should receive comparable tax treatment, regardless of whether they sell their products online or through physical stores.

“The taxation of e-commerce is intended to improve the level playing field, even though the tax rate for online merchants is lower,” Suahasil told a press conference in Jakarta.

The Finance Ministry began consolidating tax revenue data from domestic e-commerce transactions in November, with the first figures expected to be released in December.

“The new e-commerce tax policy is beginning to be reflected in consolidated data this November, and the figures will be reported next month,” Suahasil said.

Marketplace Tax Collection The collection mechanism is governed by Finance Minister Regulation No. 37 of 2025, which requires designated e-commerce platforms to collect Article 22 income tax at a rate of 0.5% of domestic merchants' sales turnover.

Under the regulation, marketplace operators are responsible for collecting, remitting, and reporting income tax on behalf of merchants selling through their platforms.

The government has designated four major e-commerce platforms -- Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada and Blibli -- as tax collectors.

The policy does not introduce a new type of tax. Instead, it changes the collection mechanism for income tax that merchants were previously responsible for paying themselves.

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