JAKARTA - Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW) reminded the government not to rush to make a full handover of the Coretax system to the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) on December 15, 2025. IAW assessed that the improvements claimed by the government have not reflected the readiness of the system as a whole for use by millions of taxpayers.
The Founding Secretary of IAW, Iskandar Sitorus, emphasized that the government's statement about improving Coretax, which has begun to feel the need to be tested critically.
"It needs to be explained in what conditions the improvement is felt. The experience of launching Coretax shows that 'feeling better' does not automatically mean that the system is ready to be used by 14 million taxpayers," said Iskandar, Saturday, December 13.
IAW highlighted at least three structural vulnerabilities in the Coretax project. First, the clash between international ready-made systems or Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) with the sovereignty of domestic taxation processes. Second, the non-technical readiness is still considered fragile, marked by the surge in complaints and increasing user incomprehension. Third, the reputation of the system has already been disrupted before it is really mature.
According to Iskandar, the big risk actually arises ahead of the handover process. Therefore, IAW asked the government not only to focus on deadlines.
"Before the handover document is signed, it must be ensured that an independent security audit is carried out by the National Cyber and Sandi Agency, the clarity of the source code and copyright ownership, and a knowledge transfer checklist by 24 external experts. In addition, there must be a rollback plan and service continuity assurance if Coretax fails during the tax season," he said.
IAW also noted that the initial stage of Coretax planning prepared by foreign consultants cost around Rp200-300 billion. At this stage, according to Iskandar, the direction of the project is determined, including the appointment of the implementing vendor.
IAW questioned the transparency of the party that built Coretax. Based on data collected, the core project implementer is the LG CNS-Qualysoft Consortium.
"This is not an accusation. This is a standard procedure in state-owned information technology projects. It is strange that this question has never been asked for years," he said.
However, IAW emphasized that it did not assess Coretax as a failed system. However, the system is considered not to be fully ready.
"Coretax is not a bad vehicle. It just hasn't been fully assembled, hasn't been tested on the highway, and hasn't been filled with the right fuel," said Iskandar.
IAW emphasized that partial improvements cannot be equated with total readiness, especially if the handover is carried out in a critical period leading up to the tax reporting season.
"If the handover is forced only to meet the deadline, the country risks facing national disruption in the 2026 SPT season," he said.
IAW also urges the government to open project documents transparently, announce system performance metrics, and ensure the readiness of all tax apparatuses, including complaint and public relations services.
"Don't repeat the mistakes of the early Coretax which was rushed, lacked transparency, and had scattered public communications," concluded Iskandar.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
