Press Oil Prices, Ministry Of Trade Letters Sri Mulyani Asks For VAT Relief

Oilita (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) revealed that the challenge experienced by Food SOEs in distributing Oilita is the mandatory obligation to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) to the government.

In accordance with PMK 8 of 2021, SOEs and BUMN subsidiaries are obliged to collect, deposit, and report the VAT or PPnBM they collect.

The tax is regulated in Law Number 42 of 2009 concerning Value Added Tax (VAT) and Sales Tax on Luxury Goods.

The obligation creates additional burdens for companies that also affect the distribution chain and the selling price of products.

Expert Staff for Management and Governance of the Ministry of Trade, Iqbal Shoffan Shofwan admitted that his party had sent a letter to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani asking for relief regarding VAT obligations for Food SOEs.

"The Minister of Trade has sent a letter to the Minister of Finance asking for relaxation of mandatory food SOE levy obligations," he said in a virtual coordination meeting for controlling inflation in 2025 quoted from the Ministry of Home Affairs' YouTube, Monday, January 13.

Iqbal said this request aims to facilitate the distribution of Oilita and reduce additional costs that affect prices at the consumer level.

"If this can be agreed upon or granted by the Ministry of Finance, first of course it will be able to shorten the distribution chain. When that happens, it should be able to help more in the contribution of stabilization of Oilita selling prices according to the highest retail price," he said.

For your information, the government decided to increase the highest retail price (HET) of Oilita from Rp. 14,000 per liter to Rp. 15,700 per liter in August 2024.

However, based on data from the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) there are still many retailers in areas that sell Oilita above IDR 15,700 per liter.

Therefore, said Iqbal, the Ministry of Trade through the Directorate General of Consumer Protection and Commercial Administration (Ditjen PKTN) has imposed administrative sanctions on 41 business actors who sell Oilita above HET of IDR 15,700 per liter.

"Dijen PKTN telah memberikan sanksi terhadap 41 pelaku usaha, baik di tingkat pencer maupun distributor yang telah terbukti melakukan pelanggaran," ujarnya.