Excise Department watches Neta after 24,000 EV compensation units remain; heavy penalties possible

A source at the Ministry of Finance provided an update on the Chinese EV brand Neta, which joined Thailand’s first-phase EV support scheme (EV 3.0) but has been unable to produce compensation vehicles in time under the scheme’s conditions. At the same time, the parent company in China has declared bankruptcy, putting Neta Thailand at risk of breaching the government scheme’s requirements.

Last week, the Excise Department called Neta’s representatives in for discussions to understand the problems and explain how to comply with the EV 3.0–3.5 measures, which were approved by the Cabinet and the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee, so that Neta and its contracting parties could consider options to resolve the issue.

The Excise Department has not filed a lawsuit or demanded damages at this stage. It is currently following legal procedures, having sent documents outlining additional details of the measures and giving the company an opportunity to explain its next steps.

From here, Neta Auto (Thailand) and Bangchan General Assembly Co., Ltd., the contracting partner under EV 3.0, must discuss which approach to take to address the delayed compensation production. If production is terminated, the company must return state subsidies and also pay excise tax on EVs that received a reduced tax rate from 8% to 2%, together with penalties and surcharge payments back to the Excise Department.

The source stressed that a resolution by the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee late last year relaxed certain conditions, such as allowing EV 3.0 participants to use a partner factory under the EV 3.5 scheme as part of compensation production. Neta Thailand is also still participating in the second-phase EV support scheme (EV 3.5).

Under EV 3.0 data, Neta imported 16,300 EVs for sale in Thailand and received over THB 2 billion in state subsidies. However, it still has 24,000 compensation units outstanding, while it has produced only 4,700 compensation vehicles. The Bangchan plant production line has not increased output because the parent company in China stopped shipping parts for assembly in Thailand.

If the company cannot fully meet the conditions, penalties under the EV measures require operators to return subsidies, plus penalties and surcharge payments under the law, and return the excise tax benefit received from the reduced rate. In total, the burden could reach 80–85% of the vehicle price. If the company cannot pay, the case will proceed to legal action, including seizure of a THB 20 million guarantee, account freezes, and seizure of assets for auction.