Indonesia plans to make tax compliance a condition for civil service promotions
Tax chief Bimo Wijayanto said promotion applicants would need a fiscal certificate, but gave no launch date for the planned requirement.
Indonesia is drafting rules that would require civil servants to fulfil their tax filing and payment obligations before advancing in rank or grade, according to Bimo Wijayanto, director-general of taxes at the Finance Ministry.
Speaking at a Directorate General of Taxes media gathering in Bogor on 12 November 2026, Bimo said promotions and appointments to echelon positions would require a fiscal certificate, known as an SKF.
He said the requirement had been agreed and would take effect after a joint decree involving four or five ministers, including Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara. Bimo did not give a launch date or explain the reasoning behind the measure.
Separately, the tax directorate said it had identified individual taxpayers who deleted income tax withholding records from their annual returns for the 2025 tax year. According to the agency, this made returns show no tax outstanding when additional tax was due, or reduced the amount owed.
The directorate sent reminder emails to those taxpayers asking them to correct their returns. It said the messages used behavioural insights to encourage voluntary compliance through simpler, more targeted communication.
