Thailand's D S I Finds Super-Car Reassembly Units Sorely Lacking

[webfact]

DSI finds super-car reassembly units sorely lacking
PIYANUT TUMNUKASETCHAI
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- In its initial inspection, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) learned that the facilities where super cars were allegedly assembled were no more than mere godowns.

During the inspection, DSI officials also found five luxury cars as well as more than 24,000 bottles of alcohol believed to have been smuggled in.

"We have been successful in our search," DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said yesterday.

Vehicles that have been reassembled in Thailand are subject to lower taxes and relevant authorities believe that tax evasion on this front has cost the country more than Bt20-billion in lost revenue.

Officials yesterday inspected operations at JMW Co Ltd, TNN Express Co Ltd, Porjai Auto Class and the home of Dhamma Motor Rich Co Ltd's owner. These companies had declared themselves as reassembling operations, but inspection showed that they clearly had no capacity to handle such a complicated task.

"Their place looks more like a small warehouse. They are by no means able to reassemble fast cars or super cars like the Lamborghini," Tarit said.

The owners of Porjai Auto Class and Dhamma Motor Rich were also interrogated yesterday.

Tarit also held a meeting with representatives from the Customs Department, the Excise Department, the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS), the Land Transport Department and the Thailand Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) to discuss the legal proceedings that can be taken against the wrongdoers.

The Land Transport Department said that since October 2010, 6,862 vehicles had been registered as reassembled in Thailand and more than 3,000 other vehicles were waiting for a similar stamp. This means that the number of cars for which tax has not been paid might be well over 10,000 - higher than the initial estimate. Tarit expects to receive an exact figure by Monday.

"Initially, we will focus on vehicles with a market value of more than Bt4 million," he said, adding that the car owners will then be summoned for questioning and their vehicles checked to determine if they were really reassembled locally. CIFS and TISI will also join the vehicle check.

"If the owners are found to have been involved in the tax-evading scheme, they will face legal action," Tarit said, adding that any officials found involved would also be punished.

"Entrepreneurs and engineers who are found to have provided false documents will also be prosecuted," he said.

Customs Department's deputy director general Rakop Srisupa-at said customs officials and police detected an average of 200 to 300 smuggled vehicles yearly. "We are not able to check each and every container," he said.


-- The Nation 2013-06-07

[wjhall]

<deleted> is a godown???

[bigbamboo]

<deleted> is a godown???

Sounds like a Pattaya word.

[Thait Spot]

<deleted> is a godown???

Sounds like a Pattaya word.

Sounds like the Thai Baht and the SET this month!

[Thai at Heart]

<deleted> is a godown???

Sounds like a Pattaya word.

Thaiglish for warehouse. Asked 1mn times why, and all I can come up with a practical joke played on Thailand by gi's in the war.

[johna]

Godown = warehouse

[tomross46]

<deleted> is a godown???

Warehouse.

[SABloke]

"Lacking" implies they were disappointed - does this mean they want the facilities to be upgraded/improved?

Also gotta love, "We have been successful in our search" - did they even spend a week investigating this case. How can they already be successful?

[tomross46]

Are Pink Bentley's assembled in Thailand?

[tomross46]

"Lacking" implies they were disappointed - does this mean they want the facilities to be upgraded/improved?

Also gotta love, "We have been successful in our search" - did they even spend a week investigating this case. How can they already be successful?

They watch NCIS on True?

[Thai at Heart]

Just saw it on the TV news. Lots of old classic wrecks Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Cadillacs all at least 20 years old, some maybe 50, being cannibalised for spares, a couple of Ferraris relatively new, with the body panels removed and bits and bobs missing, and amazingly, 2 Maybachs, recent models, sitting with flat tyres, covered in dust, one with red plates on it.

[retell]

takes a bit more than a wooden crate and a Ferrari poster (with or without boobies) to be an assembler

[affen02]

They will face legal action. How many times over the yrs have we heard this from the police. In this case there will probably be ministers, senators or other high ranking civil servants involved or their offspring. They will face legal action, what makes me 99 percent sure that this will never happen.

[CWMcMurray]

"Lacking" implies they were disappointed - does this mean they want the facilities to be upgraded/improved?

Pretty much.... As these companies have advised that they are importing car parts and then assembling the cars in Thailand

So if This is the truth, then would expect them to have facilities for actually assembling cars...

As they do no not, it seems that they may be actually smuggling in fully assembled cars from overseas

Which means they are not paying the required import taxes for these cars

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[GentlemanJim]

takes a bit more than a wooden crate and a Ferrari poster (with or without boobies) to be an assembler

Well it sounds to me like they have not actually found the assembly shops (I wonder which MP owns them). If the Head of DSI says 'There is no way you can assemble a Lamborghini in these places' then perhaps he ought to think 'mmmm good point, so where are they assembling them'????

"Their place looks more like a small warehouse. They are by no means able to reassemble fast cars or super cars like the Lamborghini," Tarit said.

Well Sherlock, they are being assembled somewhere!

[Thai at Heart]

takes a bit more than a wooden crate and a Ferrari poster (with or without boobies) to be an assembler

Well it sounds to me like they have not actually found the assembly shops (I wonder which MP owns them). If the Head of DSI says 'There is no way you can assemble a Lamborghini in these places' then perhaps he ought to think 'mmmm good point, so where are they assembling them'????

>"Their place looks more like a small warehouse. They are by no means able to reassemble fast cars or super cars like the Lamborghini," Tarit said.

Well Sherlock, they are being assembled somewhere!

Indeed this place shown on the TV looked more like mainly a scrap yard for old classic cars being cannibalised for parts. Old Roller front ends piled on top of each other. At the end of the day, all of this running around to break up the businesses will only be sorted once they stop corruption at customs. However, quite what two Maybachs were doing sitting in there in apparently working condition, except for flat tyres, makes you wonder who the hell they belong to.

No way I would want to drive a supercar put together in that place. I find it hard to believe that anyone actually bothers to take them to pieces to any great extent. Surely, it's just easier to bribe customs.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[CrisRMenumate]

most Thais wouldn't buy an "assembled" benz from mercedes benz but still prefer to buy the fully imported models assembled in Germany - why then would they buy a Lamborghini assembled in Thailand? because the only thing assembled in Thailand is the car number plate and its all a big scam to avoid the ridiculous 260% taxes on such cars. My Mazda CX9 was $62,000 - here in Thailand the same car without many of the additional features on mine is Baht 3.7 million - double the price, ridiculous, no wonder these "assembly" scams pop up

[Payboy]

TISI will also join the vehicle check.

TISI checking a Lamborghini or Ferrari - that's a laugh! Next thing you know they want to audit their factories in Italy.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Payboy

[Dork]

They don't need anywhere to re-assemble them because they aren't really disassembled in the first place. The paperwork shows parts but in reality the cars are put in the front of a 20' container with (sometimes) the doors and wheels removed which are stowed near at the rear so that when the container doors are opened at first glance it looks like parts. Often the parts will be switched so that the doors from one car are in the container of another & vv. The concealment only needs to be superficial because the Customs officers know anyway.

[Ricardo]

Still waiting to hear how Khun Tarit and the DSI will blame this one on the previous administration ?

Clearly there are people (farangs even) who, for fun or profit, spend time repairing old super-cars or renovating them, as well as other people who reassemble new super-cars which have been imported labelled as spare-parts, and this may even happen on the same premises.

But I'm not sure why they believe that reassembly will require such sophisticated facilities, it's not like they're building the cars from-scratch, is it ? So surely a normal garage or warehouse is perfectly adequate ? Or is there about to be a crack-down on poorly-equipped illegal-reassembly warehouses, at the behest of the better-equipped or better-connected importers, in this trade ?

[webfact]

UPDATE:
Comprehensive inspection of suspicious luxury cars underway
By English News



BANGKOK, June 7 – Owners of nearly 10,000 luxury cars declared as re-assembled in Thailand will be summoned for questioning in a large-scale investigation against tax evasion, according to the chief of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).

Tarit Pengdith said 6,862 luxury cars were registered already while more than 3,000 were awaiting registration and licences.

He met together Thursday with heads of five related agencies – Customs Department, Excise Department, Land Transport Department, Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) and Central Institute of Forensic Science – to discuss legal action against the luxury car owners for tax evasion.

He said the high-end cars, registered between October 31, 2010 and May 31, 2013, will be checked, targeting cars with market prices above Bt4 million.

The Land Transport Department will pinpoint the luxury cars under the criteria and names of owners while applicants for new licences will be compiled and reported to the meeting on Monday, Mr Tarit said.

He said the DSI will summon owners to take their cars for inspection by TISI specialists and legal action will be taken against owners whose cars were not re-assembled as declared, adding that those failing to show up will have their cars seized for inspection and legal action.

Customs and Land Transport officials reportedly said it was the duty of car dealers and engineers who certified the cars to declare facts and information in their applications for licences and counterfeiting documents to evade tax was a breach of the law.

Mr Tarit said the DSI will later forward the cases to the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Anti-Corruption Commission for further action while disciplinary action will be taken against state officials involved in the scandal.

The DSI director general said the luxury Lamborghini which was recently burnt in Nakhon Ratchasima was illegally imported and the re-assembly firm was a tiny warehouse with no capability to do the sophisticated job. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-06-07

[Thai at Heart]

He said the DSI will summon owners to take their cars for inspection by TISI specialists and legal action will be taken against owners whose cars were not re-assembled as declared, adding that those failing to show up will have their cars seized for inspection and legal action.

Customs and Land Transport officials reportedly said it was the duty of car dealers and engineers who certified the cars to declare facts and information in their applications for licences and counterfeiting documents to evade tax was a breach of the law.

How will they prove that the owners knew it wasn't reassembled? Doesn't the line that it is dealers responsibility contradict the statement that it is the owners responsibility?

[slapout]

takes a bit more than a wooden crate and a Ferrari poster (with or without boobies) to be an assembler

Well it sounds to me like they have not actually found the assembly shops (I wonder which MP owns them). If the Head of DSI says 'There is no way you can assemble a Lamborghini in these places' then perhaps he ought to think 'mmmm good point, so where are they assembling them'????

>"Their place looks more like a small warehouse. They are by no means able to reassemble fast cars or super cars like the Lamborghini," Tarit said.

Well Sherlock, they are being assembled somewhere!

Is this not a repeat of those illusive underground gambling halls, nope we found no evidence of gambling at the address we raided. Why go next door, we had no reports of illegal activity there?

[Neilly]

I bet there's quite a few twitchy people about at the moment planning driving holidays to Malaysia

[FarangTalk]

Another example of the wholly corrupt nature of this country, if it were needed.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[RigPig]

So after the event how do you prove a car was not re-assembled?

[OzMick]

The big question is "Why is there a tax differential?"

[thaicbr]

So after the event how do you prove a car was not re-assembled? 

Well if the owners are clever they will get their mechanic to put a spanner on all the nuts and bolts they can see and maybe for good measure knacker a screw or two... sorted.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[hellodolly]

They will face legal action. How many times over the yrs have we heard this from the police. In this case there will probably be ministers, senators or other high ranking civil servants involved or their offspring. They will face legal action, what makes me 99 percent sure that this will never happen.

If they are Democrats it will.

[Thai at Heart]

I wonder how well corolla body panels fit on a Ferrari?