TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned gas and oil firm Pertamina suggested a proposal that people who have not paid their vehicle tax should not be allowed to purchase subsidized fuel. The proposal, however, is limited to Bali areas.

“This is expected to boost tax absorption and reduce the potential absorption of subsidized fuel by unauthorized parties,” Ahad Rahedi, a spokesperson for Pertamina’s subsidiary Pertamina Patra Niaga for the East Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara Region, told Antara on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Under the mechanism, people who have not paid their vehicle tax will only be allowed to buy non-subsidized fuel. Officers at the gas station will check the data from the regional tax system before serving the buyer.

Pertamina also planned to provide tax payment services at gas stations. According to Ahad, a similar system has been applied in Lampung and West Java, and the company is exploring its implementation in East Java and Bali.

Ahad believed that the policy would increase the company’s profits and people's compliance with regional tax payments.

PT Pertamina Patra Niaga previously reported that some 232,000 vehicles across Indonesia had been blocked on suspicion of misusing subsidized fuel.

Meanwhile, state-owned insurance company Jasa Raharja said some 40 million vehicle owners had not paid their taxes as of December 2021. The figure reached 39 percent of the total 103 million vehicles registered at the Police’s Vehicle Document Registration Center (Samsat).

DICKY KURNIAWAN | ANTARA

Editor's Choice: Pertamina Blocks 232,000 Vehicles from MyPertamina App for False Data

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News