Religious Affairs Ministry Proposes Marriage Fee Revision

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Mochammad Jasin, Inspector General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Ministry) stated that the Ministry has proposed four marriage registration fees subject to revision in the Government Regulation No. 47/2004 (Regulation), which stipulates the fees that are categorized as non-tax revenue within the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The regulation stipulates that the fee of marriage and reconciliation is Rp 30,000 (around US$ 2.46). But in reality, the amount that people have to pay ranges from hundreds of thousand up to Rp 1,5 million (around US$123.22). These exorbitant fees are what the Corruption Eradication Commission considered as gratification because they are given to officials who recorded a marriage, who are categorized as civil servants.

Jasin further explained that the four proposed fees are: free marriage registration in the Religious Affairs Office (KUA) for underprivileged people; Rp 50,000 fee for marriage registration conducted at the KUA; Rp 400,000 fee for marriage registration outside the KUA during office hours; Rp 1 million for marriage registration conducted in other buildings (halls, convention centers), particularly in major cities.