InfoSAWIT, YOGYAKARTA – Indonesia is preparing a major overhaul of its strategic commodity export system, including crude palm oil (CPO), through the planned establishment of a single export agency called Sumber Daya Indonesia (DSI). The initiative is aimed at closing potential state revenue leakages linked to suspected export price and volume manipulation.
The plan was outlined by Finance Minister Purbaya Yudi Sadewa during the Jogja Financial Festival 2026, where he highlighted concerns over export practices that may have disadvantaged state revenues, particularly in coal and palm oil trade.
According to Purbaya, authorities have identified indications that certain Indonesian CPO exports were routed through intermediary trading companies abroad, particularly in Singapore, where pricing discrepancies allegedly occurred between export declarations from Indonesia and final sales prices in destination markets.
“When I checked the intermediary trader, it turned out to be the same company. Prices from Indonesia to Singapore could be only about half of the prices from Singapore to the final destination,” Purbaya said during the forum.
He explained that such practices could depress the recorded export value in Indonesia, resulting in lower export duties and income tax collections while allowing portions of profit to remain overseas.
“If our commodity prices are lowered at the initial stage, then export taxes and income taxes received by the state may also be reduced by half or even more,” he said.
DSI Planned as Single Export Gateway
Rather than relying solely on tighter field inspections, the government is pursuing what Purbaya described as a more comprehensive solution.
Under the proposal, exports of selected strategic commodities would eventually be conducted through PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), a state-backed export institution designed to serve as a single gateway before commodities enter global markets.
The mechanism, he said, is expected to eliminate loopholes related to price underreporting and export volume manipulation.
“If everything goes through one institution, the potential for price manipulation and information gaps that have been difficult to monitor can be removed,” Purbaya said.
He estimated that stronger oversight through the system could significantly boost government revenues from export levies and corporate taxation, while ensuring that greater value from Indonesia’s natural resources is retained domestically.
“Most importantly, profits from our natural resources can return more substantially to support national economic development, including education and regional development,” he added.
Technology Strengthens Export Oversight
Alongside institutional reform, Purbaya said Indonesia has strengthened its export monitoring capabilities through digital systems developed under the National Single Window (NSW) and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.
The upgraded technology enables authorities to cross-check Indonesian export data with import records in destination countries, making discrepancies in price and shipment volumes easier to identify.
Using coal exports as an example, he said the government can now compare trade data directly with importing countries such as India.
“Today, data can be matched. Businesses can no longer misreport prices or volumes because we are able to see destination-country records,” Purbaya explained.
He added that representatives from multiple ministries and state institutions may eventually be embedded within the export oversight framework to ensure stronger and more integrated governance. (T2)
