Stamp Duty in Indonesia: Which Documents Need a Bea Meterai
Stamp duty in Indonesia is a flat IDR 10,000 per taxable document. See which documents need a bea meterai, who pays, and how to stamp one late.
References (5)
- Stamp Duty Law, UU No. 10 Tahun 2020, in force 1 January 2021. Articles 3, 4 and 5 set the taxable documents and the IDR 10,000 rate, Article 7 the exempt documents, Articles 8 and 9 when the duty falls due and who owes it, and Articles 17 and 18 late stamping.
- PP No. 86 Tahun 2021 on the procurement, management and sale of stamps. Articles 4(2) and 7 set the roles of Peruri and PT Pos.
- PMK No. 78 Tahun 2024 on stamp duty, in force 1 November 2024. Article 6(1) sets when duty is paid. Articles 7, 16 to 20, 45 and 49 to 51 cover paper and electronic stamps and late stamping, and Articles 63 and 64 collectors' monthly payment and return. It revokes PMK No. 133, 134 and 151/PMK.03/2021.
- PMK No. 81 Tahun 2024, Article 96(1): stamp duty is paid in full when it falls due.
- Income Tax Law, UU No. 7 Tahun 1983 as amended by UU No. 7 Tahun 2021, Elucidation of Article 6(1)(a): stamp duty is a deductible cost.
Stamp duty in Indonesia (bea meterai) is a flat IDR 10,000 on each taxable document, on paper or electronic, and has been since 1 January 2021 (UU 10/2020, the Stamp Duty Law, Articles 5 and 32). Agreements, notarial deeds and receipts for more than IDR 5 million are among the documents that need it, and the stamp on the document is normally how it is paid.
Documents that carry stamp duty in Indonesia
The law lists the documents that carry duty, when it falls due and who owes it (Articles 3, 8 and 9). These are the ones a company meets most.
| Taxable | Due | Owed by | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agreement | Any value, employment contracts included | On signing | Each party, on the original it receives |
| Notarial deed | Any value, and each copy | On signing | Each party, on the original it receives |
| Statement | Any value, e.g. a surat pernyataan or a power of attorney | On hand-over | The recipient |
| Share deed | Any value | On signing | Each party, on the original it receives |
| Receipt | Over IDR 5m | On hand-over | The recipient (the payer) |
| Foreign document | Same tests as a local one | When used in Indonesia | The party that benefits |
The law says who owes the duty, but the parties can agree who actually pays (Article 9(2) and 9(6)). The duty is paid in full when it falls due, normally by stamping the document (PMK 78/2024, a Minister of Finance regulation, Article 6(1); PMK 81/2024, Article 96(1)). A company the tax office appoints as a stamp duty collector pays and files monthly (PMK 78/2024, Articles 63 and 64).
Some documents carry no duty at all (UU 10/2020, Article 7):
- Salary receipts, and receipts for other payments made under employment.
- Receipts made for the company’s own internal use.
- Receipts for tax payments.
- Delivery notes, bills of lading and other shipping documents.
- Records of money or securities held on deposit, such as bank statements.
Paper stamp or e-meterai
The stamp can be a paper one, an electronic one or another form the Minister of Finance sets (UU 10/2020, Article 12(2)).
Paper stamps are sold by PT Pos, the state postal company (PP 86/2021, a government regulation, Article 7(3)).
The stamp is stuck on whole, undamaged, where the signature will go. The signature then runs partly over the stamp, with the date of signing (PMK 78/2024, Article 7(2)).
An e-meterai is applied to an electronic document through the official electronic stamp system (PMK 78/2024, Article 16(1)). It carries a unique code that a scanning app can read (Article 17(2)).
Peruri (Perum Percetakan Uang Republik Indonesia) makes and distributes it, working with appointed distributors (Article 18(1) and (4)).
A stamp applied the wrong way leaves the document treated as unstamped (PMK 78/2024, Article 45), so apply stamps as described above.
If a document was not stamped
Stamp duty affects whether a document can be used. A court, a notary or a government official may not accept an unstamped taxable document until it has been stamped late, pemeteraian kemudian (UU 10/2020, Elucidation of Article 3(1)(b); Article 21). The duty is paid with an administrative sanction of 100% of the duty (Article 18(1)(a) and 18(2)).
So a document signed since 1 January 2021 and left unstamped costs twenty thousand rupiah to put right: ten thousand of duty and ten thousand of sanction.
A tax official, or a PT Pos official for paper stamps, then endorses the late stamping (PMK 78/2024, Article 51).
Whoever holds the document may pay, whether or not they owed the duty (Elucidation of UU 10/2020, Article 17(2)). A document stamped late only because it is going to court pays the duty alone, with no sanction (Article 18(1)(b)).
Questions people ask
Does an employment contract need a stamp?
Do invoices need a stamp?
What about a document signed abroad?
What this means for you
Notarial deeds carry duty on the original and on each copy, and a notary may not issue copies of an unstamped deed (Stamp Duty Law, Article 21(1)(c)). That covers the deed that sets up a limited liability company (PT) and the deed amendments our corporate secretarial work prepares.
Stamp each signed original when it is signed, and stamp receipts above IDR 5 million. A share transfer or a power of attorney is stamped like any other agreement or statement, whatever the sums involved. When the company bears the duty in its business, it is a cost the company can deduct for income tax (Income Tax Law, UU 7/1983 as amended by UU 7/2021, Elucidation of Article 6(1)(a)).
We advise on which documents need a stamp, and can apply the stamp on your behalf.