Millions lost in tax revenue over imported cars
A Department of Special Investigation (DSI) investigation of car imports found that in January alone, 166 new cars had been wrongly registered as having been bought more than 18 months ago in order to lower their value before being smuggled into the count
Other than declaring luxurious cars as being worth a lot less than they really are, smugglers have also resorted to providing false information on imported autoparts in order to pay low custom duties.
The government has been losing out on millions of baht worth of tax revenue every year, especially since luxury cars are usually taxed 187 to 328 per cent, DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said.
Thailand has about 30 companies selling cars in the “grey market”, and officials need to inspect suspect income tax payments and check if the value of imported goods is being declared falsely, he said.
He added that any officials found involved would be reported to the National AntiCorruption Commission and urged consumers to not buy cars from the “grey market” because they could face charges of conspiracy.
