Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has postponed the implementation of the e-commerce tax, which was previously scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2026. Purbaya explained that the postponement of the marketplace tax was due to the economic downturn.

Purbaya stated that the tax will take effect if people's purchasing power and the economy improve. "If there are signs of improvement, we will reimplement it. We might postpone it for a few months," he told the media at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 5, 2026.

The former Chairperson of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) stated that the implementation of the e-commerce tax is not solely based on economic growth. The government also considers consumer confidence, retail purchases, and various other variables.

Purbaya added that the postponement only applies to domestic e-commerce platforms. Therefore, foreign platforms, such as PT Jalin Pembayaran, will continue operating as collectors under the Foreign Digital Transaction Tax Collection System. "Only domestically, we will determine what will happen in the future," he said.

The Directorate General of Taxes previously appointed four companies to collect Article 22 Income Tax on earnings received by merchants through e-commerce. These four companies are Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada, and Blibli.

Under Minister of Finance Regulation No. 37/2025, individual merchants with an annual turnover of up to Rp500 million are exempt from tax collection by marketplace companies. Therefore, this levy applies only to merchants with an annual turnover exceeding Rp500 million.

This is not the first time the e-commerce tax has been delayed. Last October, the Ministry of Finance postponed the policy, setting a target of 6 percent economic growth. The e-commerce tax was originally scheduled to take effect in February 2026. "There is a new directive from the Minister to wait until economic growth reaches 6 percent," said Bimo Wijayanto, Director General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance, on Monday, October 20, 2025.

The e-commerce tax policy was originally issued by former Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on June 11, 2024. Through this policy, the government tasked e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Tokopedia with collecting taxes from online merchants. The policy is stipulated in Minister of Finance Regulation No. 37/2025, which took effect on July 14, 2025, and remains active until revoked.

The new e-commerce tax policy was previously released by Sri Mulyani Indrawati, while she was still serving as minister, on June 11, 2024. Through this policy, the government assigned e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Tokopedia to collect taxes from online merchants. The policy is stipulated in Minister of Finance Regulation 37 of 2025, which took effect on July 14, 2025, and will remain in effect until revoked.

– Ilona Esterina contributed to this report.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2116800/why-indonesia-postponed-the-e-commerce-tax-polic