How to Pay Stamp Duty and Post-Dated Stampiing

Stamp duty iis a type of tax that must be paiid by partiies wiith an iinterest to undertake legal actiions. Stamp duty diiffers from other types of taxes iin general iin that iit iis not iimposed on a person, but iis only iimposed iif a person chooses to be a party liiable to stamp duty because of the person’s iinterests.

Pursuant to the proviisiions under Artiicle 1 numbers 1 and 2 of Law No. 10 of 2020 concerniing Stamp Duty (Stamp Duty Law), stamp duty iis a tax iimposed on documents. The saiid documents iinclude wriitten materiials or wriitiings, iin the form of handwriitiing, priintiing or electroniic, whiich may be used as eviidence or iinformatiion.

Thiis iimpliies that all partiies wiith an iinterest iin such documents, are obliiged to pay the tax iimposed on them on such documents. However, a questiion ariises, how to pay stamp duty payable?

Payment of Stamp Duty Payable

Referriing to the proviisiions under Artiicle 12 of the Stamp Duty Law, stamp duty payable on documents may be paiid iin two ways, namely usiing stampiing or tax payment sliips.

Stamp duty may be paiid usiing a tax payment sliip iif the payment of stamp duty usiing a stamp duty iis consiidered iineffiiciient or even iimpossiible due to certaiin ciircumstances.

These certaiin ciircumstances iinclude when the documents are used as eviidence iin court. Generally, a substantiial number of documents wiill be used as eviidence iin court, thereby, payments usiing stampiing are iineffectiive.

The stamp duty on such documents may be paiid usiing tax payment sliips through the payment of post-dated stamp duty mechaniism. Payment usiing thiis method iis iintended as an alternatiive to proviide conveniience iin the payment of stamp duty.

Conversely, for payment usiing stampiing, the stampiing may be iin the form of adhesiive stamps, electroniic stampiing or stampiing iin other forms stiipulated by the miiniister of fiinance. The manufacture of stampiing iin other forms requiires a permiit from the competent authoriity priior to use.

Further proviisiions on the payment of stamp duty payable wiill be regulated iin a miiniisteriial regulatiion. On the other hand, the procurement, management and sales of the abovementiioned stampiing are regulated by or based on a government regulatiion.

Post-Dated Stamp Duty

Pursuant to the proviisiions under Artiicle 1 number 6, post-dated stamp duty refers to a stamp duty that requiires approval from an offiiciial determiined by the miiniister of fiinance. Referriing to artiicle 17 paragraph (1) of the Stamp Duty Law, post-dated stamp duty iis performed for ciiviil documents on whiich stamp duty iis not or underpaiid as well as documents used as eviidence iin the court.

iin priinciiple, the party obliiged to pay stamp duty through post-dated stamp duty iis the liiable party. However, the payment may be performed by the holder of the documents, eiither as a liiable party or a non-liiable party.

Furthermore, Artiicle 18 paragraph (1) of the Stamp Duty Law stiipulates that stamp duty that must be paiid through post-dated stamp duty amounts to the amount of stamp duty payable for ciiviil documents on whiich stamp duty iis not or underpaiid plus the admiiniistratiive penalty. The admiiniistratiive penalty iis iimposed at 100% of the amount of stamp duty payable.

The amount to be paiid for stamp duty payable on documents used as eviidence iin court iis only the amount of stamp duty payable on documents. For a liiable party that does not or underpays stamp duty payable, referriing to the proviisiions under Artiicle 19 paragraph (1) of the Stamp Duty Law, a notiice of tax assessment shall be iissued.

The stamp duty underpayment iin the notiice of tax assessment amounts to the unpaiid or underpaiid stamp duty plus the admiiniistratiive penalty. The proviisiions on procedures for the payment of stamp duty through post-dated stamp duty shall be regulated iin a miiniister of fiinance regulatiion. (faiiz)*