PMTL to fight in court

A Thai court accepted the prosecutors' case. In a statement, PMTL said the case is meritless, unjust and in violation of Thailand’s obligations to comply with the World Trade Organisation Customs Valuation Agreement.

Troy Modlin, Branch Manager of PMTL, said: “PMTL has done nothing wrong. Not only are these charges wholly without merit and in violation of Thailand’s obligations to comply with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, they also call into question Thailand’s commitment to fairness, transparency and the rule of law.  Prosecuting this case will also undermine Thailand’s stated desire to revitalize its reputation in the international community as a market-based open economy that is investor friendly.”

The charges result from a Department of Special Investigations (DSI) investigation that began in 2006, and allege that PMTL under-declared import prices for cigarettes it imported from the Philippines between 2003 and 2007.

PMTL noted that the decision of the former Attorney General, Julasingh Vasantasing,  to charge PMTL and its current and former employees contradicts the non-prosecution order his own office made more than four years ago, as well as prior rulings of the Thai Customs Department, the Customs Board of Appeal, the Customs Post-Clearance Audit Bureau and the WTO. 

Since the charges emerged, PMTL stopped importing cigarettes from the Philippines, pending customs neutralisation between two countries. The Philippine government brought the case to WTO and in 2011,  a WTO body ruled that the exports from the Philippines complied with international customs procedures.