Pertamina Has Begun Sharing Financial Data With Tax Office, in Real Time
Jakarta. State-run energy firm Pertamina has begun opening up its ledgers in real time to the directorate general of taxation at the Ministry of Finance, a sign perhaps of a new era of cooperative compliance with companies, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday (21/02).
Since Jan. 1, Pertamina has shared real-time data in a host-to-host online system, digitally submitting every transaction, including invoices, billings and annual tax reports, to the tax office. It is the first of 10 of Indonesia's largest companies to do so this year.
"Real-time data will be immediately shared by Pertamina to the directorate general of taxation to ensure credibility and a more accurate tax payment process," Sri Mulyani said.
Pertamina typically submits 3.7 million invoices each year to the tax office, taking an average of 16 days and 24 tax officials to process, the minister adder.
"If we submit manually, it will take longer and there is a higher possibility of human error, and we can be fined. We expect that won't happen anymore," State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno told reporters.
Tax revenues from state-owned enterprises amounted to Rp 166 trillion ($12.15 billion), or 16 percent of total tax collection of Rp 1,151 trillion, last year.
Rini hopes other enterprises follow the country's biggest company’s lead and contribute more to state revenue through tax and dividends.
Robert Pakpahan, tax director general, said other enterprises will gradually apply the host-to-host system this year, including utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), telecommunication company Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) and the State-Owned Banks Association (Himbara), which consists of Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN).
Indonesian diversified conglomerate Astra International, Astra Honda Motor, the local unit of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer and Indonesia's largest mobile network operator Telekomunikasi Seluler will also join the system, Robert said.
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