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RI to claw back right to tax imported digital goods in 2026
The end of the WTO moratorium on e-commerce tariffs in 2026 paves the way for Indonesia to start levying excises on imported digital goods.
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A man walks past the World Trade Organization headquarters on June 15, 2022, during the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
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ndonesia has claimed that the World Trade Organization moratorium on e-commerce tariffs will not be extended beyond the agreed deal, hoping that this will finally end years of tax breaks enjoyed by foreign tech companies, which firms have warned would also hurt consumer in the process.
The moratorium was set to expire on March 31 if WTO members do not unanimously agree on its renewal, but Indonesia, like all other members of the organization, opted to extend it until the 14th Session of the Ministerial Conference (MC14) or March 2026, whichever is earlier, during a conference held on March 1.
Experts say the decision is a compromise, as it moves the country closer to an end to many years of duty-free e-commerce but accommodates calls from several countries behind foreign big tech companies that want it to remain in place or even to become a permanent policy.
“There’s no [moratorium] beyond that. So, there’ll be no talk of further extensions,” Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, Indonesian delegation for the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13), said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Read also: RI to defend skeptical stance on digital goods tax moratorium at WTO
The moratorium bars countries from levying import duties on digital products and was first launched in 1998.
Jakarta has become one of the prominent WTO members seeking to supplant the so-called customs duties on electronic transmissions (CDET) moratorium since 2017.
