Government Prepares Coal and Gold Export Duties for 2026, Signaling Major Shift in Downstreaming Policy
Key Takeaways
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JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — The Ministry of Finance and Komisi XI of the House of Representatives concluded that Indonesia needed export duties on coal and gold to raise domestic value and reduce reliance on raw-material exports. The measure is intended to ensure that natural resources deliver broader benefits to the national economy.
Director General of Economic and Fiscal Strategy Febrio Kacaribu said the coal export-duty design remained under inter-ministerial review, while the gold export-duty framework advanced more rapidly toward completion. He stated, “We see Indonesia as the world’s third-largest coal producer, yet its exports still carry low value-added content.”
He noted that benchmark coal prices had continued to weaken. He explained that the reference price for the fourth quarter of 2025 was projected to fall to US$ 77.8 per ton, bringing the annual average to roughly US$ 98 per ton.
Febrio emphasized that policymakers sought stronger downstreaming as part of long-term industrial policy and Indonesia’s broader decarbonization agenda. He said, “Therefore, this export-duty tariff must be consistent in supporting downstreaming and wider economic activities in Indonesia related to coal resources.”
Under Presidential Regulation Number 55 of 2022 on the delegation of mineral and coal licensing, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources was responsible for submitting coal-duty proposals. Febrio said, “The coal export duty is still under process inside the government.”
He added that the government continued to calculate a tariff formula that would avoid burdening producers during a weak price cycle while still protecting state revenue. The intent was to design a rate that supported value-adding investments without creating excessive pressure on the industry.
Gold Export-Duty
The gold export-duty regulation entered its final drafting stage at the Ministry of Finance and was expected to be issued soon. Febrio said Indonesia held an estimated 3,491 tons of gold ore reserves in 2023, placing the country among the world’s most endowed locations. He emphasized that the government wanted a greater portion of gold-value creation to remain in the domestic economy.
He said gold downstreaming centered on developing more smelters so exports would transition from raw ore to processed material. He added, “In the supply-chain context, we want the priority to remain downstreaming.”
He explained that the bullion-bank ecosystem had begun to mature and had already provided benefits to the public. He said, “We also see that the bullion-bank ecosystem has started to take shape and people are already receiving its benefits, but we need to create more gold liquidity inside the country.”
Febrio said export duties would apply to dore, granules, cast bars and minted bars. He noted that the tariff would be lower for goods at a more advanced manufacturing stage to reward deeper processing.
“When it has been formed into ingots and cast bars, the tariff is lower, and when it is processed into minted bars, the tariff is even lower. This requires additional manufacturing steps, and therefore the rate is reduced,” He said. Febrio added that the Ministry of Trade would issue a regulation to establish the official gold export reference price.
The Ministry of Finance presentation divided the gold-duty framework into four product groups under two benchmark price ranges. It emphasized that dore and granule products would carry higher rates, while cast bars and minted bars would receive reduced tariffs as incentives for advanced processing.
Below is the consolidated tariff table reflecting the structure discussed in the inter-ministerial presentation: