IDR 361 Trillion in Tax Refunds Disbursed, Purbaya Withholds Remaining IDR 7 Trillion

JAKARTA. The government recorded that the value of tax refunds disbursed throughout 2025 reached hundreds of trillions of rupiah, despite state revenue coming under pressure. Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed that efforts to hold back refund disbursements last year were relatively limited, as most refunds had already been executed earlier.

During a meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives on Wednesday (February 4, 2026), Purbaya disclosed that the total tax refunds paid throughout 2025 reached IDR 361.15 trillion. Of that amount, the government was only able to withhold approximately IDR 6 trillion to IDR 7 trillion.

“Almost all have been disbursed, with only IDR 6 trillion–IDR 7 trillion yet to be executed,” said Purbaya, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

The former Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) explained that the large amount of refunds already paid left very limited room to safeguard state revenue from this aspect. Therefore, Purbaya decided to halt the remaining refunds that were still in the disbursement process. “I couldn’t save too much last year from the refund process,” he said.

Concerns Over Irregularities in Refunds

Nevertheless, Purbaya highlighted irregularities in the speed of refund disbursements during certain periods. He admitted being puzzled that in several months, refunds appeared to have been disbursed very rapidly.

“I’m just a bit surprised why in some months it was disbursed so quickly, as if they were trying to finish it off. So there must be something unusual there,” Purbaya said.

Furthermore, he also referred to alleged improper practices in tax refund claims. According to him, there are indications that some producers inflated their cost of goods sold (COGS) excessively, making business margins appear very small on paper, even though the actual profits remained substantial.

“Sometimes producers raise their COGS too high so that the margin looks very small, whereas in reality the profits inside are still large,” he explained.

Going forward, Purbaya emphasized that the government will conduct further tracing and investigations into the tax refund mechanism. This step is expected to strengthen oversight while ensuring that refunds are granted strictly in accordance with the regulations. (KEN)