Indonesia Postpones E-Commerce Tax Due to Economic Downturn

Indonesia's Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa announced the postponement of the e-commerce tax policy, which was slated to begin on August 1, 2026. The minister cited the current economic downturn as the reason for delaying the implementation.

"If there are signs of improvement, we will reimplement it. We might postpone it for a few months," Sadewa told reporters at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. He explained that the tax's effective date depends not only on economic growth but also on consumer confidence, retail purchases, and other economic variables.

The postponement specifically targets domestic e-commerce platforms. Foreign platforms, such as PT Jalin Pembayaran, will continue to operate as collectors under the Foreign Digital Transaction Tax Collection System. The Directorate General of Taxes had previously appointed Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada, and Blibli to collect Article 22 Income Tax from merchants earning through e-commerce. Under Minister of Finance Regulation No. 37/2025, individual merchants with an annual turnover up to Rp500 million are exempt from this collection.

This is not the first delay for the e-commerce tax. The Ministry of Finance previously postponed the policy in October 2025, aiming for 6 percent economic growth. The tax was initially scheduled for February 2026. The policy was first issued by former Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on June 11, 2024, stipulating that e-commerce platforms would collect taxes from online merchants.

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If there are signs of improvement, we will reimplement it. We might postpone it for a few months.