The Finance Ministry said traders are not required to have tax identification numbers to register with online marketplaces. (Shutterstock/Nopparat Khoktong)

The Finance Ministry has assured that traders on online marketplaces are not required to have tax identification numbers (NPWP) to register with online marketplaces.

The decision was made during a meeting between Finance Ministry bodies – the Fiscal Policy Agency,  Taxation Directorate General and Customs and Excise Office – with members of the Association of E-commerce Indonesia (IdEA) on Monday.

“This is the proper interpretation of Finance Ministerial Regulation No. 210/PMK.010/2018,” said Finance Ministry spokesman Nufransa Wira Sakti as quoted by kompas.com, referring to a regulation on taxation for e-commerce transactions.

He said during registration, traders only needed to show the number of their identity cards. Under the general taxation regulation, people with an income of less than Rp 4.5 million (US$318.91) per month or Rp 54 million per year are not required to have an NPWP.

Before the meeting, IdEA protested the regulation, saying that the requirement to have an NPWP for e-commerce traders would harm their business because many of the traders were small entrepreneurs who do not have an NPWP.

Because of the confusion, the association initially called on the government to delay the enforcement of the regulation that was scheduled to take effect on April 1. (bbn)

Source : TheJakartaPos