TCEB 'ready' for lawsuit over scrapped wine fair

The event reportedly had been scheduled to take place from November 25-27, 2010, at Royal Paragon Hall. However, it was cancelled because BIWF failed to receive a tax exemption from the Customs Department for wine imported for the trade fair, which had been promised by the TCEB. A follow-up event, the BIWF Gala Dinner scheduled for November 29, was also cancelled.

The TCEB is a state agency under the Office of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office. At the time, Korn Chatikavanij was finance minister and Akapol Sorasuchart was the TCEB president. Deputy prime minister General Sanan Kachornprasart oversaw the bureau.

BIWF is also suing the Customs Department at the same time. Recently, the Administrative Court accepted the complaint. The court proceedings are expected to take several months or years.

‘innocent’

Thongchai Sridama, TCEB’s acting president, said yesterday that although the bureau has yet to received written notification from the court on the case, the matter has been put on the agenda for discussion this week, and evidence to use in the case will be compiled.

He said his agency could prove its innocence. The BIWF’s grievance is over something that is not the TCEB’s role. The bureau is responsible for promoting and coordinating events, not the consideration of tax exemptions.

For example, Amway from China recently organised an event in Thailand and imported products for it, and there were no problems. Possibly in this case, the imported products were not for sale.

Thongchai said a written agreement between BIWF and the TCEB on the imported wine has not been found so far. He believes it is likely that any commitments in this regard were made orally by the politicians involved.

A recent media report on the dispute cited Joe Sriwarin, BIWF’s managing director, as saying that seven days before the event was supposed to take place, the company received confirmation from the Customs Department that only three bottles of wine would be allowed in for the trade exhibition.

Thailand’s wine tax was 400 per cent at the time. Fearing that this would be charged to all the exhibitors at the fair, the company cancelled it.

The organiser had hoped to promote Bangkok as a distribution hub for wine in the region. Wine producers, importers and retailers from across Southeast Asia were invited to join the event.

"From the very beginning we understood that it was the TCEB’s responsibility to obtain the tax-exemption document from the Customs Department as it announced on its website,’’ Joe said in the media report.

Thongchai rejected any suggestion that this case would damage the country’s image as an MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination in the region. However, he acknowledged it was a lesson for the bureau for future operation.