Indonesia’s tax authority is examining 32 CPO taxpayers over potential underpayment, underinvoicing, and transfer pricing practices.
CYRUSTIMES, JAKARTA – Indonesia’s Directorate General of Taxes, known as DJP, is targeting potential state revenue of around Rp1.1 trillion from the crude palm oil (CPO) sector.
The potential revenue is linked to the tax enforcement process involving 32 taxpayers in the CPO sector. The examination covers several stages, ranging from preliminary evidence audits to criminal tax investigations.
DJP Director General Bimo Wijayanto said three taxpayers had corrected their annual tax returns and paid approximately Rp200 billion to the state treasury.
“Three taxpayers have voluntarily corrected their tax returns and paid around Rp200 billion,” Bimo said in Jakarta on Friday, June 5, 2026.
Bimo explained that DJP is still prioritizing the principle of ultimum remedium. Under this approach, taxpayers are given an opportunity to correct their tax reporting and settle unpaid taxes along with applicable sanctions before a case is escalated to a criminal investigation.
However, the tax authority also emphasized that law enforcement will continue if indications of criminal tax violations are found. Voluntary correction does not remove DJP’s authority to pursue legal proceedings when violations are considered serious.
The scrutiny of the CPO sector is not limited to alleged tax underpayment. DJP is also looking into suspected underinvoicing and transfer pricing practices within the palm oil industry.
Underinvoicing refers to the practice of reporting transaction values below their actual amount. Transfer pricing relates to the pricing of transactions between companies within the same business group or related parties.
In the CPO industry, such practices are considered vulnerable due to the long and complex palm oil business chain. The sector may involve plantations, palm oil mills, processing companies, exporters, and affiliated firms overseas.
If transaction prices are not recorded fairly, taxable profits in Indonesia may appear lower than they should be. As a result, the taxes paid to the state could also be lower than the actual obligation.
The case shows that the palm oil sector remains one of the key areas in Indonesia’s state revenue supervision. CPO has long been a strategic commodity for both the domestic market and exports.
However, the large economic value of the palm oil industry also requires a comparable level of tax compliance. The government needs to ensure that potential revenue is not lost through transaction reporting, selling prices, or business relationships between affiliated companies.
So far, DJP has not disclosed the names of the companies included in the list of 32 CPO taxpayers. Their operational locations and regions of production have also not been publicly explained.
For now, the case remains part of national tax law enforcement. However, its impact could extend to palm oil-producing regions, especially areas that serve as key sources of raw materials for CPO.
The enforcement action against the 32 CPO taxpayers sends a signal that the palm oil industry must not only remain strong in production and exports, but also transparent in tax reporting.
For the state, tax compliance in the CPO sector is important to maintain public revenue. For the public, transparency in oversight is crucial to ensure that large industries do not merely profit from natural resources, but also contribute fairly to national finances.
Editor’s Note: This article is an English adaptation of Cyrustimes’ Indonesian-language report for international readers.