The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) provided an official clarification to set the record straight regarding circulating information about tax imposition on running activities. The tax authority emphasized that the public need not worry, as independent running activities remain exempt from any tax obligations.
The Value Added Tax (VAT) obligation actually targets only paid digital services provided by the Strava sports platform. This move follows the appointment of Strava, Inc. as an Electronic System Commerce (PMSE) tax collector in Indonesia. Thus, VAT is charged only to users who choose to purchase or subscribe to premium features within the application.
The DGT explained that users utilizing the Strava application for free will not be subject to VAT. This policy is part of the government's efforts to create fairness in the digital tax system, ensuring that foreign business entities profiting from the domestic market contribute to state revenue.
Besides Strava, the DGT has also appointed several other PMSE business entities operating across various sectors, ranging from digital content and education to artificial intelligence (AI). As of May 2026, a total of 271 PMSE companies have been appointed, with 233 actively remitting VAT to the state treasury, reaching a total remittance of IDR 4.88 trillion throughout the current year.
The criteria for foreign companies to become VAT collectors include transaction values with Indonesian buyers exceeding IDR 600 million per year or traffic exceeding 12,000 users per year. Once officially appointed, the company is required to collect a 12 percent VAT on the selling price of digital products offered to customers in Indonesia.
