Supreme Court Proposes Cassation Mechanism under the New Tax Court Judicial System

The transition of administrative oversight of the Tax Court from the Ministry of Finance to a single-roof system under the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung – “MA”) is targeted for completion no later than 31 December 2026. To improve the structure of the judicial system following the transition, MA is advocating the drafting of a new Draft Bill (“RUU”) on the Tax Court.

Supreme Court Justice of the State Administrative Court (Tata Usaha Negara – “TUN”) Chamber, Yodi Martono Wahyunadi, explained that one of the most significant procedural law issues requiring improvement is the absence of a mechanism for pursuing cassation. According to him, the absence of a cassation stage has meant that Tax Court decisions immediately acquire permanent legal force (inkracht), resulting in a surge in applications for Judicial Review (Peninjauan Kembali – “PK”) to MA without an initial legal screening process. 

“In my view, there should be a cassation remedy, so that decisions do not immediately acquire permanent legal force. Tax cases should first be brought before MA through an ordinary legal remedy, followed by cassation. We need to consider how this can be implemented effectively,” he stated.

Furthermore, the proposed revisions to the Draft Bill on the Tax Court also emphasize restructuring the recruitment and administrative oversight of judicial personnel. In accordance with the Constitutional Court’s mandate, the dualism system, under which the Ministry of Finance oversees organizational and budgetary matters while MA supervises judicial technical matters, will be discontinued. Going forward, the selection, multidisciplinary competency certification (covering administrative law and forensic accounting), and professional development of tax judges will be fully managed by MA.