BANGKOK: The Customs Department will appoint a special committee to speed up resolution of cases involving arrests and confiscation of items worth hundreds of billions of baht during the past 10 years.
“There are old cases that have not been settled yet, and they are worth hundreds of billions of baht. Examples are the rosewood case, the Isuzu case, the Amway case and the Marlboro case,” said Kulit Sombatsiri, director-general of the Customs Department.
You might also like
These cases have been held up by legal processes, he said, noting that some big cases were complicated by discussions with other units.
Kulit said that previously when a big case worth tens of billions of baht was filed, the team that made the arrest claimed it had to discuss the case with relevant units within the Customs Department in order to abide by the laws.
As these internal discussions dragged on, some cases have been considered for more than 10 years and have not yet been settled.
This special committee will be represented by each unit for direct internal discussions for more flexibility and agility, and requests for comments from the units no longer be required.
Kulit also asked all customs officials to take full responsibility after finding that some were neglecting their duties in some areas, which caused delays.
In the first 10 months of the 2015 fiscal year, the Customs Department collected Bt105.9 billion in revenue, 5.8 per cent or Bt6.5 billion lower than its estimate. Revenue collection for imports was 6.7 per cent or Bt7.36 billion lower than expected on the contraction of imports.
Land vehicles and components came first for import duties, followed by electrical appliances and components, machinery and mechanical equipment, iron or steel items, and plastic.
