Accounting Records in Indonesia: Language, Currency and Retention
Accounting records in Indonesia: when books may be kept in English or US dollars, who needs permission, and the ten-year rule on keeping records.
References (8)
- UU No. 6 Tahun 1983 on tax administration (KUP), as amended by UU No. 28 Tahun 2007. Article 28(1), (2), (4), (6), (8) and (11), on the duty to keep books.
- PMK No. 196/PMK.03/2007, as amended by PMK 24/PMK.011/2012, PMK 1/PMK.03/2015 and PMK 123/PMK.03/2019. Articles 2, 3, 6, 10(1), 11 and 12, on English and US-dollar books. Article 7(2) and (3) were revoked by PMK 81/2024.
- PER-8/PJ/2025, in force 21 May 2025. Articles 4, 16 to 29, 32 and 34, the Coretax procedure.
- PMK No. 81 Tahun 2024. Articles 106(2)(a), 161(2) and 455, on dollar payments and returns.
- PER-11/PJ/2025. Article 95(2), on the corporate return.
- UU No. 7 Tahun 2011 (the Currency Law). Article 21, on the use of rupiah.
- UU No. 8 Tahun 1997 (the Company Documents Law). Article 11(1), the ten-year period.
- UU No. 40 Tahun 2007 (the Company Law). Article 100, on registers and minutes.
Every company in Indonesia keeps full books, in Indonesia, in Indonesian and in rupiah (the tax administration law, KUP Law, Article 28(1) and (4)). Those are the accounting records Indonesia expects by default. English is open to any company, US dollars only with permission, and the records are kept for ten years. The books also follow Indonesian financial accounting standards (PMK 81/2024, Article 455(1)), and which standard applies to your company is a separate question.
Language and currency: three options
| Indonesian and rupiah | English and rupiah | English and US dollars | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | Every company | Any taxpayer | Listed categories only |
| How | Nothing to arrange | Notify the tax office | Apply for permission |
| When | From the start | Within 3 months after the year starts | Ahead of the year, or on founding |
| Minimum | None | One financial year | Five financial years |
English is the only foreign language allowed and the US dollar the only foreign currency (PMK 196/PMK.03/2007, Article 2). Books in English but in rupiah need only a notification through Coretax, the tax office’s online system, and the notification number is issued automatically (PER-8/PJ/2025, Articles 16(1), 17 and 18). That route is open to a company that does not qualify for dollars. Once chosen, English stays for at least one financial year (Article 26(2)(b)).
Who can keep books in US dollars
English and US dollars together need the permission of the Minister of Finance (KUP Law, Article 28(8)). It is open to set categories of company, chiefly:
- a foreign-investment company (PT PMA)
- a permanent establishment
- a subsidiary of a foreign parent company
- a company listed on a stock exchange abroad
- a company whose functional currency under Indonesian accounting standards is the US dollar
There are also a few specialist cases, such as oil and gas contractors and mining contracts of work (PMK 196/PMK.03/2007, Article 3, as replaced by PMK 123/PMK.03/2019; PER-8/PJ/2025, Article 16(3)). A local PT with no foreign parent and a rupiah functional currency is not on the list. What makes a foreign company a permanent establishment is explained in when a foreign business becomes taxable here.
One condition applies to every applicant. The company’s filings must be up to date and it must have no tax owing (PER-8/PJ/2025, Articles 4 and 21(4)).
From application to switching back
-
Send the request
Within three months of establishment, or three months before the financial year starts.
-
Hear back
Automatic for a PT PMA or permanent establishment; for others, silence after one month means approval.
-
Stay in dollars
At least five financial years, with no expiry date on the permission.
-
Return to rupiah
Apply at least three months before the first rupiah year begins.
The application goes through the Coretax taxpayer portal (PER-8/PJ/2025, Articles 21 to 23). Five years is a minimum, not a term, and for most companies the permission does not lapse on its own (Article 26(2); PMK 196/PMK.03/2007, Article 12). Returning to Indonesian and rupiah is a further application, decided within a month (PER-8/PJ/2025, Articles 32 and 34).
The permission comes first
Books kept in English and US dollars without permission are treated as though no books were kept at all (PMK 196/PMK.03/2007, Article 10(1)). Having the permission in place before the first dollar entry avoids the point entirely.
Books in dollars, tax in dollars
A company with US-dollar books files its corporate income tax return in US dollars. The return is in Indonesian, apart from the financial statements attached to it (PER-11/PJ/2025, Article 95(2); PMK 81/2024, Article 161(2)). How that return fits the year end is covered in filing the year-end corporate return.
The company then pays its monthly income tax instalments and the year-end balance in US dollars too (PMK 81/2024, Article 106(2)(a)). The books do not change the currency of ordinary business, though. Payments inside Indonesia are made in rupiah, with limited exceptions such as international trade (Currency Law, Article 21).
Ten years, in Indonesia
The books, the records and the documents behind them, including those kept electronically, stay in Indonesia at the company’s domicile for ten years (KUP Law, Article 28(11)).
Company law sets the same ten years for the annual accounts and the journals behind them, counted from the end of the financial year (Company Documents Law, UU 8/1997, Article 11(1)). The directors also keep the shareholder register and the minutes at the domicile (Company Law, UU 40/2007, Article 100).
Questions people ask
Can a company keep simple records instead of full books?
Can we change our financial year?
What happens to the opening balances when we switch to dollars?
We have the permission but have changed our minds. What now?
Where MAM helps
Our bookkeeping service covers the monthly books, reconciled to the bank and supporting your filings, so the year end starts from a clean position. The corporate tax work draws on the same records.
We also advise on the language and currency of your books. That includes whether your company qualifies for English and US dollars, whether it is worth seeking, and when the request needs to be in.