Commission XI of House of Representatives along with the Executive Government of Republic Indonesia have officially passed and approved the enactment of the new stamp duty’s rate, from a layered-tariff system into a single-tariff system. , This adjustment is listed under Law Number 10 of 2020 on Stamp Duty (“Law 10/2020”) which was issued on October 26, 2020. The law revoked Law Number 13 of 1985 on Stamp Duty (“Law 13/1985”). Starting from January 1, 2021, the former stamp duties of IDR 3.000,00 and IDR 6.000,00 will be replaced with a single tariff of IDR 10.000,00. Article 28 of Law 10/2020 provides a year of transition period, in which the following shall apply:

1. Stamp duty on dutiable documents made up to December 31, 2020 shall continue to follow Law 13/1985; and
2. The former stamp duties (of IDR 3.000,00 and IDR 6.000,00) was issued can still be used until December 31, 2021 by affixing at least 2 (two) stamps until the value amounts to at least IDR 9.000,00 instead of the required IDR 10.000,00 (e.g., a piece of IDR 6.000,00 and a piece of IDR 3.000,00 stamp, a pair of IDR 6.000,00 stamps, or 3 (three) pieces of IDR 3.000,00 stamps).

The new IDR 10.000,00 stamp duty is only legally required to be imposed on documents with contain acknowledgement of debt payment or settlement, either entirely or partially,  or documents which describe any receipts of money with nominal value above IDR 5.000.000,00.

The other basic rules of stamp duty under Law 10/2020 remain largely unchanged. However, this new regulation adds several documents concerning civil matters that should be noted as dutiable, including but not limited to:

1. Securities transaction documents, including documents for future contract transactions in any names or forms;
2. Auction documents in the form of excerpts, minutes, copies and executorial deeds (grosse); and
3. Other documents stipulated by Government Regulation.

Furthermore, Article 12 of Law 10/2020 states that the stamp duty is payable via the following alternatives:

1. Stamps, including affixed stamp duty, electronic stamps or other forms as determined by the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia; or
2. Tax-payment slips.

Based on Article 18 of Law 10/2020, a post-dated stamp duty can still be enforced under the new regulation, with a condition that the stamp duty for the said dutiable document has yet to be fully paid and/or the said document is being used as evidence in court. An administrative sanction in the amount of 100% of the indebted stamp duty will be charged along with the indebted stamp duty consecutively.

Please note that the validity of an agreement shall not be determined as according to the existence of the stamp duty. Instead, it shall be determined by Article 1320 of the Civil Code. However, a dutiable document without stamp duty will not be considered or accepted by Indonesia’s public authorities pursuant to Article 3 of Law 10/2020.

The obligation to insert a stamp duty essentially is to prove that such tax offer document has been paid to the government as stipulated in the corresponding regulation of stamp duty. For further inquiries on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Gabriella Lienardo ([email protected] or [email protected])