Bamsoet Reveals Tax Leakage, Foreign Airlines Urged to Have GSA

Bamsoet highlighted the potential for tax leakage from the sale of foreign airline tickets in Indonesia. (IST)

JAKARTA - Bambang Soesatyo (Bamsoet) highlighted the potential for tax leakage from the sale of foreign airline tickets in Indonesia and urged the government to immediately require every foreign air transport company to appoint a General Sales Agent or GSA with a legal entity in Indonesia.

According to Bamsoet, so far there are still many foreign airlines selling tickets in Indonesia without an official GSA. As a result, the flow of transactions goes directly abroad, tax potential is lost, and consumer protection is weakened.

"Until now, there are still many foreign airlines that sell tickets in Indonesia without appointing an official GSA. The financial transaction flows directly abroad, so the country loses a huge tax potential and consumer protection is also weak," said Bamsoet after receiving the Foreign Airlines General Sales Agent (FAGA) Indonesia managers in Jakarta, Thursday, April 16, 2026.

Chairman of FAGA Indonesia Ibnu Triyono assessed that the arrangement of the working relationship between foreign airlines and GSA in Indonesia is indeed urgent. According to Ibnu, without the appointment of an official GSA, domestic business actors lose business certainty, while transaction supervision becomes loose.

Bamsoet explained that the number of Indonesian international passengers in 2025 is estimated to have exceeded 70 million people, with strong growth in the Asian and Middle East routes. However, some foreign airline ticket transactions are still processed through foreign digital platforms, so they are not optimally recorded in the national financial system.

This condition, said Bamsoet, makes state revenues, including VAT and income tax, not optimal. Therefore, the government is encouraged to require one Indonesian legal entity to be appointed as a GSA so that all ticket sales activities are recorded, transparent, and make a real contribution to the national economy.

Apart from the obligation of GSA, Bamsoet also highlighted the need for fair commission standards, including minimum limits for over riding commission and sales commission through the IATA system for GSA and travel agents.

He also criticized the ticket price components that often confuse the public, such as fuel surcharges or YQ which are considered not transparent. According to him, the ticket price structure needs to be simplified into a basic tariff and government tax so that it is easier to monitor.

Bamsoet also asked for disputes between foreign airlines and GSA to be subject to Indonesian law, the application of PNBP on the Sold Outside Ticketing Outside scheme, and restrictions on foreign ownership in GSA to a maximum of 49 percent in order to maintain control of national business actors.