The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) at the Ministry of Finance is preparing a regulation that would require e-commerce companies like Shopee and Tokopedia to collect taxes from sellers operating on their platforms. Rosmauli, Director of Counseling, Services, and Public Relations at the DGT, stated that the initiative is aimed at ensuring fair treatment between micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operating online and those conducting business offline.

"Currently, the plan to appoint marketplaces as tax collectors is still under discussion," Rosmauli told Bisnis, as quoted on Thursday (June 26, 2025). However, the Ministry of Finance, led by Minister Sri Mulyani, has not yet confirmed when this new regulation will take effect. Rosmauli urged all parties to remain patient, assuring that further explanation will be provided once the regulation is officially issued. “The effective date will be regulated in the new provision,” she added.

Previously, Reuters reported on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) that this plan to impose taxes on MSME sellers on e-commerce platforms is aimed at boosting tax revenue at a time when the state’s income is under pressure.

The planned regulation, which also aims to level the playing field with physical stores, may be announced as early as next month, one Reuters source stated. E-commerce platforms, however, have pushed back against the proposal, arguing it would increase administrative burdens and potentially discourage sellers from using online marketplaces, according to sources briefed by the tax authority.

A similar regulation was previously introduced by the government at the end of 2018, requiring all e-commerce operators to submit seller data and ensure they paid taxes on their sales revenue. However, that policy was revoked just three months later due to strong resistance from the industry.

Under the new proposed rule, e-commerce platforms would be responsible for collecting and remitting a 0.5% tax on sales revenue from sellers whose annual turnover ranges between Rp500 million and Rp4.8 billion. These sellers are classified as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and are already required to pay this tax directly.

One source added that the government is also considering penalties for platforms that fail to submit tax reports on time. These details were confirmed in a formal presentation from the tax office to e-commerce operators, which was seen by Reuters.

In addition to the expected rise in administrative costs, industry players are worried that the newly upgraded tax system—known as Coretax—may not be capable of handling the volume of data required by the tax office, especially after it experienced technical issues earlier this year.

For context, since 2018, the government has provided a final income tax (PPh Final) incentive of 0.5% for MSME individual taxpayers, valid for seven years. For corporate taxpayers in the form of cooperatives, limited partnerships (CVs), or firms, the incentive applies for four years, and for limited liability companies (PTs), for three years. While this incentive was originally set to expire at the end of 2024, it has now been extended until the end of 2025, although the official regulation is still awaiting approval from the State Secretariat.