Thai Court Rules Traffic Fines Can't Block Vehicle Tax Renewal

[webfact]

Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

In a landmark decision, Thailand's Administrative Court has ruled that outstanding traffic fines cannot be used as grounds to deny motorists their annual vehicle tax renewal.

 

This case revolved around Amnat Kaewprasong, who faced an unexpected hurdle when the Bangkok office of the Department of Land Transport refused to issue his tax decal due to an unpaid 500 baht fine related to a speeding offence.

 

Kaewprasong brought the issue to court, arguing that the denial was both unjust and contrary to legal procedures. The court sided with him, instructing the Department of Land Transport to provide the necessary vehicle tax decal within three days from the date the judgement took effect.

 

Additionally, the court mandated compensation to Kaewprasong of 3,151.50 baht for the inconvenience caused, along with interest at a rate of 3% per annum.

The crux of the court's decision emphasised that while an electronic data-sharing agreement between the Department of Land Transport and the Royal Thai Police was in place to streamline enforcement of traffic regulations, the police failed to adhere to required legal procedures.

 

Notably, the traffic department had not issued the formal notices required by law for the unpaid fine, nor was there evidence of communication regarding the non-compliance.

 

Without such notifications, the court maintained that the department had overreached its authority by refusing the tax renewal. The decision sets a significant precedent, reinforcing the principle that due process must be followed, and outstanding fines alone cannot justify withholding essential documents like a vehicle tax decal.

 

By ensuring these checks and balances are respected, the ruling protects motorists from bureaucratic overreach and underscores the need for lawful and transparent communication between governmental bodies and the public.

 

This outcome is likely to have wider implications for how traffic fines are enforced and may prompt procedural reforms within the involved agencies to avoid similar situations in the future, reported Thai Rath.

 

-- 2024-12-21

 

 

[ChrisY1]

Well done to K.  Amnat Kaewprasong. 

"the police failed to adhere to required legal procedures."

There must be thousands of outstanding fines which may now all be illegal according to this judgement.....

Any lessons learnt for the cops?

[quake]

Oh well,  Carry on speeding.

TIT.

[ikke1959]

No wonder there are so may accidents... Thai laws are worthless... Don't pay fines and nothing will happen. Just continue living and in this case even worse the culprit get compensation for not paying fines and go to court ... a bonus and reward. And in the meantime again a blame for the RTP as they don't do their work properly... In my country if you don't pay your fine and at a checkpoint they see it that you have to pay you can pay first before you can drive on... and if don't pay within the normal period you get extra fines. NO court will agree with you if you can't pay your tax if you have fines to pay.. They will fine you even more with all extra costs for your account as it is your duty to pay in time...But this is Thailand the country with laws that are not enforced a RTP that is not working, and have no clue of laws and too lazy to lift their asses.. and a court that is not independent.

Unless you are a foreigner..........than everything works very well and they will empty your wallet

[connda]

That's hilarious!
Well like all of the Thais in Thailand, if I'm issued a ticket, I'll forget to pay it - like forever.

[gravity101]

4 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Well done to K.  Amnat Kaewprasong. 

"the police failed to adhere to required legal procedures."

There must be thousands of outstanding fines which may now all be illegal according to this judgement.....

Any lessons learnt for the cops?

The fines aren't illegal, it's how they tried to force payment that is.

[KireB]

Paid my 2nd ever fine this week, a whopping 500 baht for speeding. 

[ardsong]

1 hour ago, ikke1959 said:

No wonder there are so may accidents... Thai laws are worthless... Don't pay fines and nothing will happen. Just continue living and in this case even worse the culprit get compensation for not paying fines and go to court ... a bonus and reward. And in the meantime again a blame for the RTP as they don't do their work properly... In my country if you don't pay your fine and at a checkpoint they see it that you have to pay you can pay first before you can drive on... and if don't pay within the normal period you get extra fines. NO court will agree with you if you can't pay your tax if you have fines to pay.. They will fine you even more with all extra costs for your account as it is your duty to pay in time...But this is Thailand the country with laws that are not enforced a RTP that is not working, and have no clue of laws and too lazy to lift their asses.. and a court that is not independent.

Unless you are a foreigner..........than everything works very well and they will empty your wallet

In Oman where I worked for some years it was different , you could not renew your yearly car registration without having cleared all outstanding traffic fines. Easy to check and the country had no long outstanding fines and a good disciplined traffic. Thailand should change the law  in this sense as it will improve the payment of fines in time, the force payment will give a boost to better traffic behavior, so a win-win situation

 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Well done to K.  Amnat Kaewprasong. 

"the police failed to adhere to required legal procedures."

There must be thousands of outstanding fines which may now all be illegal according to this judgement.....

Any lessons learnt for the cops?

Doubtful.

[klauskunkel]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

the police failed to adhere to required legal procedures

There shall be sarcasm

[newnative]

Bad court decision.

[Will B Good]

I wonder if a Thai court might, one day, rule that traffic fines have to be paid?

[KannikaP]

2 hours ago, ardsong said:

Thailand should change the law  in this sense as it will improve the payment of fines in time

I was under the impression that it WAS the Law here, pay fines before registering your vehicle.

[Ralf001]

had to renew road tax on my daily last month.... yeah DLT refused due to outstanding fines.

[transam]

3 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I was under the impression that it WAS the Law here, pay fines before registering your vehicle.

It was, but naturally they have shot their self in the foot, yet again..........🤪

[AhFarangJa]

2 hours ago, ardsong said:

In Oman where I worked for some years it was different , you could not renew your yearly car registration without having cleared all outstanding traffic fines. Easy to check and the country had no long outstanding fines and a good disciplined traffic. Thailand should change the law  in this sense as it will improve the payment of fines in time, the force payment will give a boost to better traffic behavior, so a win-win situation

 

Same in Saudi, also, if you had any outstanding tickets you could not get an exit visa to go on holiday, and if you had a multi exit-re-entry visa they would clock you at immigration.

[jcmj]

When will they ever learn? They wonder why people don’t care about driving laws. No repercussions for the drivers. What happened to the point system?  😂🤣 It never ceases to amaze me even after 20+ years. TIT

[cardinalblue]

If the authority issues/communicates with the violator, then the authorities should be allowed to deny registration on unpaid tickets…

 

if the headlines is correct, then the courts made a bad ruling…it makes it sound like authorities can’t deny registration even if tickets are not paid…

 

this could be bad journalism as well

[ikke1959]

2 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Same in Saudi, also, if you had any outstanding tickets you could not get an exit visa to go on holiday, and if you had a multi exit-re-entry visa they would clock you at immigration.

In The Netherlands the police is even coming at night to wake you up to pay the fines...

[Purdey]

I find it more convenient to pay fines through the ATM rather than wait. I have seen one person told he can't renew his license without paying outstanding fines. 

[Puccini]

11 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

...There must be thousands of outstanding fines which may now all be illegal according to this judgement.....

Any lessons learnt for the cops?

That's a misinterpretation of the court decision.

 

The unpaid fine is still legal. It was the manner in which the Land Transportation Department refused to renew the vehicle registration because of the unpaid fine that was illegal.