Thailand
Thailand: Car import duty calculation be revised
The Customs Department will change the valuation method of imported cars to make it more acceptable to importers, deputy spokesman Kreecha Kledsriphan said on Tuesday.
He did not elaborate how it would be changed. Luxury car importers have long complained about their tax burden — import duty, excise tax and value-added tax — is as high as 328%,
Currently, the GATT valuation method in which the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) prices quoted by importers are used as the base for tax calculation.
The Customs Department 317/2547 announcement also set the “testing prices” or reference prices for cars that the department does not have the customs prices.
The test prices are set by country of origin using the retail car prices in that country, deducted by VAT in that country as applicable and by the rates specified in the announcement (43.46% for cars made in Europe and the US, 37.11% for Japanese-made cars and 46.52% for South Korean cars). The result will be considered the free- on-board (FOB) price to be used as the test price.
For example, the FOB price of a vehicle made in a European country uses the retail price in that country at a time close to the shipment date, deducted by the VAT of that country and by 43.46%.
The announcement stressed that the test prices are not customs prices unless importers agree to use them.
Thaipublica.org, an online news outlet, reported earlier the problem with the announcement is that it allows customs officials to apply “discretion” in using valuation methods other than the CIF prices when there are “reasonable doubts”, opening the door to bribery and corruption.
Also on Tuesday, the department showed 315 vehicles seized from tax evaders to be auctioned on Thursday.
Seree Thaijongrak, deputy director-general of the department, said the auction would likely fetch 315 million baht.
They include Ferrari, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The 2015 California T Ferrari has the highest starting price of 20.6 million baht
Suvit Yodcharas, chairman of Union Auction Plc, the organiser of the department’s auctions, said in previous auctions about 80-90% of all products were sold, fetching 30% higher than the starting prices.
A 2014 orange McLaren with a starting price of 30 million baht was pulled out of the auction because the British Embassy informed Thai authorities it was a stolen car.
Four other cars — two Porsche, one Mercedes-Benz and one BMW — must also be returned for the same reason, he added.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/finance/1276651/car-import-duty-calculation-be-revised