BNI, SKK Migas to accelerate reimbursement of VAT

By Febry Silaban

Sate owned bank BNI is cooperating with upstream authority SKK Migas to speed up the reimbursement of value added tax (VAT) and transaction in foreign currency by PSC contractors and vendors.

BNI?s VP for Banking Transaction Division Sri Indra said in in time like these where oil price is on the decline, cash flow is of paramount importance for PSC contractors. One of their needs is that they may quickly receive VAT reimbursement from the government.

?BNI is cooperating with SKK Migas and the Directorate General of Taxation to provide an innovative service by establishing an interconnection system and online reporting aimed to speed up VAT reimbursement. Thanks to this innovation, VAT can be reimbursed speedily as the system which is being developed enables verification process to be conducted online,? she said.

She said BNI is now the only bank which is ready to provide with such an integrated service. The bank now absorbs 60 percent of tax payment by PSC contractors and the amount continues to increase.

Following the PBI 17/3/PBl/2015 regulation issued by the Central Bank on the use of rupiah in Indonesia and the No. 18/3/GBI-DKSP/SRT/B dated Feb. 23, 2016 letter from the Central Bank to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on the implementation of the PBI 17/3/PBl/2015 regulation, which allows PSC holders and their vendors to continue using foreign currency in their deal on the condition that the transaction is carried otu using rupiah, SKK Migas and state owned banks signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on March 24, 2016 on currency transaction betwen PSC holders and vendors. In order to implement the MoU, BNI has built a system to carry out the currency transaction of PSC contractors and vendors, Sri said.

Sri explained that the system makes it easier for PSC contractors and vendors to carry out currency transaction in an integrated way through one platform using the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) for either purchasing or selling rates automatically. This makes the transaction process between PSC contractors and vendors more efficient.

?Aside from the two solutions mentioned above, BNI has also developed another solution called Centralization of Confirmation of Bank Guarantee, which makes it easier for PSC contractors to check the validity of vendors through online platform. Thanks to this solution, it is hoped that the business process of PSC contractors will become easier, faster and more secure,? he said.

Elsewhere, Sri estimated that transaction in the country?s upstream industry is estimated to increase to Rp 150 trillion this year, from Rp 100 trillion in 2013, Rp 115 trillion in 2014, and Rp 125 trillion last year.

Sri said as per June, transaction has reached Rp 70 trillion. He said that out of 81 producing oil and gas contractors in the country, 46 have become BNI?s customers, using the bank?s services in making transaction with vendors.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon