e-Faktur System Errors Are Not Valid Grounds for DJP to Impose Administrative Fines on Exporters.

Tax Lawsuit Analysis: Article 14 Paragraph (4) KUP Administrative Sanctions and e-Faktur System Errors in PT SSI

The Directorate General of Taxation (DGT) frequently applies administrative sanctions under Article 14, paragraph (4) of the KUP Law rigidly against Taxable Persons (PKP) who fail to report certain documents treated as Tax Invoices on time. In the PT SSI dispute, the Defendant issued a VAT Tax Collection Letter (STP) for the September 2015 period, imposing a 2% fine of the Tax Base (DPP) because the Export Declaration (PEB) was deemed not reported in accordance with its issuance period through the e-Faktur application. This conflict stems from the Defendant's interpretation that the reporting delay was a pure administrative negligence, while PT SSI insisted that the failure was caused by a system error during the national e-Faktur implementation transition in 2015.

Judicial Consideration: Taxpayer Good Faith and Prioritizing Substantial Justice Over Administrative Rigidity

The Defendant argued that the e-Faktur system was operating stably and mass socialization had been conducted, thus technical issues experienced by a single PKP were considered subjective reasons that could not override formal legal provisions. Conversely, PT SSI proved its good faith by repeatedly consulting with the Account Representative (AR) and the local Tax Office's IT department when encountering upload failures of PEB data. The Board of Judges, in its consideration, stated that the imposition of sanctions must consider aspects of justice and factual conditions on the ground, especially during the transition to a new system where the PKP was newly registered. The Board believed there was no intentional intent to conceal transactions since PT SSI immediately performed a voluntary correction as soon as the application was updated. Ultimately, the Board of Judges decided to grant the entire lawsuit and cancel the sanctions, emphasizing that substantial justice must take precedence over the administrative rigidity of an imperfect system.