Issuance of regulation on coal export tax delayed

The issuance of the implementing regulation on coal export tax has been delayed because the price base to be used in collecting the tax has not been determined yet.

Deputy of the Coordinating Minister for Economy Edy Putra Irawady told Investor Daily on Friday that the government’s Tariff Team was completing the right price base to be used in collecting the export tax.

Meanwhile the coordinator of the Tariff Team, Anggito Abimayu said that the team would recommend three options regarding the coal export tax – collecting the tax based on current coal price, determining the tax collection at a certain price level and to delay the implementation of the tax at all.

“The recommendation will be given to Minister of Trade as the basis for the issuance of the implementation of the coal export tax,” he said.

Director General of Coal and Geothermal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Simon F. Sembiring told the same newspaper last week that the implementing regulation on the export tax would be issued this week.

The government’s decree on coal export tax was introduced last month but it could not be enforced because its implementing regulation had not been issued. Earlier reports said that the export tax would be collected only if the price of coal reached above US$50 per ton. (*)