*

Indonesia to impose 0.5% levy on income of e-commerce

sellers

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No schedule given yet, but sources say it could begin next

month

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Platforms warn that time and care needed to implement new

rules

(Adds background, details)

By Stefanno Sulaiman

JAKARTA, June 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia is working on a

new regulation that will require e-commerce platforms to collect

and pass on sellers' sales income in a bid to tackle the "shadow

economy", its tax office said on Thursday, confirming a Reuters

report earlier this week.

Citing sources, Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday

about a planned directive that e-commerce platforms must

withhold and pass onto the authorities a levy amounting to 0.5%

of sales income from small and medium-sized sellers.

Sources said the rule could be introduced as early as next

month, though a statement from the tax office did not give any

schedule amid concerns from some platforms that they would need

time to implement such a directive.

"The rule is still in the works and will be announced and

explained to the public after," the statement said, adding that

e-commerce platforms and other stakeholders have been consulted

and have so far given their backing.

Indonesia's e-commerce association idEA said on Wednesday

that it will comply with any government policy, but expressed

concern over implementation timelines, stressing that it needed

to be handled carefully as it will impact millions of sellers.

The changes would affect the country's main e-commerce

operators, including ByteDance's TikTok Shop and Tokopedia

GOTO.JK, Sea Limited's ( SE ) SE.N Shopee, Alibaba ( BABA )-backed 9988.HK

Lazada, Blibli and Bukalapak BUKA.JK, one of the sources said.

Sources also told Reuters there could be penalties for late

reporting.

ByteDance's TikTok, which runs Tokopedia, one of Indonesia's

biggest e-commerce platforms, told Reuters in a statement that

it would need time to implement the directives.

Tokopedia has around 12 million sellers listed on its

platform, and, in 2023, the total value of transactions reached

249 trillion rupiah ($15.3 billion), according to a company

presentation.

"We hope its implementation takes into account the need for

adequate preparation time for various aspects. This includes the

technical readiness of platforms and the capacity of sellers,

especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to comply,"

TikTok said in the statement.

The tax office said the regulation was intended to improve

supervision of the "shadow economy" and vendors who do not pay

taxes because of the perceived complexity of the filing process.

Indonesia's has a booming e-commerce industry, with last

year's estimated gross merchandise value of $65 billion expected

to grow to $150 billion by 2030, according to a report by

Google, Singapore state investor Temasek and consultancy Bain &

Co.