The Harmonization Law No. 7 issued on October 29, 2021 (“HPP Law”) added a number of changes in Tax Regulations. One of the regulations is regarding the Voluntary Disclosure Program (“VDP”).
On December 23, 2021, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued Regulation No. 196/PMK.03/2021 (“PMK-196”) to outline the procedures to apply for the VDP as mandated under the HPP Law.
There are two policies in the VDP under the HPP Law. Both are applicable for January 1 –June 30, 2022, which are as follows:
Policy I
Applicable for taxpayers who have participated in the 2016-2017 Tax Amnesty (TA) program. This covers net assets acquired from 1985-2015, which have not been disclosed under the TA program.
Benefits:
- Taxpayer will not be subject to administrative sanction under Article 18(3) of TA Law (i.e. 200% penalty); and
- Data and information declared cannot be used as a basis for tax investigation and/or criminal prosecution.
Policy II
Applicable for individuals only. This covers net assets acquired from 2016-2020 which were not disclosed in the taxpayer’s 2020 Individual Income Tax Return (“IITR”) and are still owned by the taxpayer at the end of the 2020 Fiscal Year.
Benefits:
- No tax assessment will be issued for 2016 – 2020 Fiscal Year unless there is new data or information on assets that have not been disclosed; and
- Data and information declared cannot be used as a basis for tax investigation and/or criminal prosecution.
Undisclosed assets under point (a) above will be deemed as income for 2022 Fiscal Year and subject to Final Income Tax of 30% plus administrative sanction under Article 13(2) of KUP Law that will be collected via an SKPKB.
Asset repatriation and investment
Assets declared can be in any form and can be domestic or offshore assets. However, lower rates may be applicable if the assets are invested in certain eligible investments and/or if the offshore assets are repatriated into Indonesia.
To enjoy the lower rates, the deadline for offshore assets to be repatriated into Indonesia is September 30, 2022. Eligible investments to enjoy the lower rates include:
- Business activity in processing of natural resources (e.g. processing of gold ore into pure gold) or renewable energy (e.g. solar energy) in Indonesia; and/or
- Government Debt Securities (Surat Berharga Negara/SBN).
These eligible investments must be placed by September 30, 2023 at the latest and must be retained for a minimum of 5 years after the investment date. Failure to repatriate the offshore assets, or failure to invest the assets in eligible investments within the prescribed periods will result in additional Final Income Tax for 2022 Fiscal Year using the tax rates stated in the above table.
Declaration Procedure
- Undeclared assets calculations – Under the VDP programs, Taxpayers can disclose undeclared net assets (assets minus liabilities) using Asset Declaration Letter (“SPPH”).
- Taxpayer must not be undergoing certain dispute processes. PMK-196 provides clarity on the cut-off time for the start of the disputes as follows:
- For a tax audit or a tax audit on preliminary evidence of a tax crime for the 2016-2020 Fiscal Years – this is when the Tax Audit Notification Letter (Surat Perintah Pemeriksaan) has been given to the taxpayer or their proxy;
- For a tax investigation – this is when the police investigator notifies the commencement of investigation to the prosecutor;
- For a court proceeding for a tax crime – this is when the case has been transferred by the prosecutor to be heard in court.
In this regard, the Policy II applicant must revoke certain ongoing legal processes relating to tax. The statement to revoke can be made by ticking the relevant statement box in the SPPH. For legal processes under the Directorate General of Taxes (“DGT”) authority, this statement serves as a request letter to revoke the ongoing processes. However, for legal processes beyond the DGT’s authority (i.e. appeals, lawsuits, or judicial reviews) it is necessary to attach a copy of the request letter for revocation of the ongoing processes.
Post-Declaration
- Declared asset holding periods
Domestic and repatriated offshore assets declared under the VDP must be retained in Indonesia for a minimum of 5 years from the issuance of the SK. Offshore assets must be repatriated via a bank transfer by September 30, 2022.
- Scope of eligible investments
PMK-196 provides more guidance on the scope of eligible investments as follows:
- For business activity involving the processing of natural resources or renewable energy in Indonesia. This type of investment can be via:
- The establishment of a new business; or
- The equity participation in an Initial Public Offering or a Rights Issue of an existing business.
- For Government Debt Securities (Surat Berharga Negara/SBN)
Investment in SBNs must be purchased in the primary market via a Private Placement through banks or securities companies that are designated as a Main Dealer. Taxpayers must submit a copy of their SK to the Main Dealer to be used as a basis for the Main Dealer to report to the DGT.
If the originating assets are in foreign currency then the purchase of the SBNs can be made in IDR or USD. However, if originating assets are in IDR, then the purchase of SBNs can only be in IDR.
- Placement of eligible investments
The eligible investments must be in place by September 30, 2023 and must be retained for a minimum of 5 years from the investment date.
- Realization Report
Any taxpayer who has a commitment to repatriate and/or to invest in eligible investments is required to submit an Investment realization report electronically through the DGT online website. The report is based on the condition at the end of the fiscal year prior to the year of submission. The submission deadlines are:
- At the end of the 2022 AITR submission deadline for a first-year report;
- At the end of the 2023 and onwards AITR submission deadline for subsequent years reports.
For more information please kindly contact your Tricor representative.