Retail Entrepreneur Disappointed that Marketplace Tax Does Not Apply in August 2026

Marketplace (unsplash)

JAKARTA - The retail association said it was disappointed with the government's decision to postpone the collection of taxes on e-commerce transactions.

This is because the General Chair of the Indonesian Association of Retailers and Shopping Center Tenants (Hippindo) Budihardjo Iduansjah said that the policy was needed to create fair competition between online and physical retail players.

He said that all modern retail actors have so far collected the Value Added Tax (PPN) of 11 percent from each transaction and deposited it to the state. According to him, a similar mechanism also needs to be implemented consistently on digital platforms.

"Yes, disappointed (postponed). In retail, we pay 11 percent, even if we sell (goods) online, we also deposit 11 percent to the state. So, we hope that in this case there will be equality between online and offline," said Budihardjo when met by reporters after the Indonesia Retail Summit & Expo (IRSE) Press Conference, Hati Modern Retail Indonesia (HARMONI) Award and Shopping in Indonesia Aja (BINA) Year 2026 in Jakarta, Thursday, August 6.

Hippindo, said Budi, fully supports the government's efforts to collect taxes from e-commerce transactions. According to him, the policy is not to burden business actors, but to create equality in the tax system.

Iya explained that every transaction at retail outlets is automatically subject to VAT and deposited into the state treasury. Therefore, he hopes that e-commerce platforms will also implement the same collection mechanism.

"If we are at the cashier, we will definitely charge 11 percent, then we will deposit it to the state. So, we hope it will be collected as we collect it," he said.

Previously, the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa decided to postpone the implementation of the tax for transactions on the marketplace which had previously started to be implemented on August 1, 2026.

According to Purbaya, the decision was made by considering the purchasing power of the community, which was considered not fully recovered and the delay would be officially stated through the Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK).

"Online taxes may be postponed, it doesn't (become) this August," said Purbaya in a Media Briefing, Wednesday, August 5.

Purbaya explained that the marketplace tax policy would be reapplied when the national economic conditions showed a stronger improvement.

"I always say (the application) that if the purchasing power of the economy has improved," he said.