Thai DSI: 'Big rings behind luxury car scam'

[KIWIBATCH]

Could always lower the tax to eliminate black market all together, might even make money money in tax by selling more luxury cars at decent prices

.....this good idea from konying is just far too difficult for any Thai official to figure out.........

[Songhua]

All those pieces of paper on the whiteboard to nab two Malaysian drivers. This investigation could take quite some time.

[lvr181]

Open and shut case. It has been solved - "clearly, influential people". Everybody happy?

[Kawapete]

What a wakeup call for me !! , I thought is was these rice farmers again trying to hide all the money they make on the side....

[Prbkk]

This scam has not been perpetrated by elite, powerful figures. I suspect that the elderly couple caught picking mushrooms in the forest are the real culprits.

[TTom911]

oh, I thoughts it was the Myanmar's, because there where Myanmar's finger prints on each and every car found during the investigation...? But maybe I misunderstood (or I am just plain stupid)...

Edited October 16, 2014 by TTom911

[givenall]

Woooo in Thailand corruption by influential people. It is unheard of

[Jools]

" The smugglers are clearly influential people... "

Well that's an end to that investigation.

The last politician to use the term "influential", had to leave the country. Much to be learned from that episode.

[peterb17]

Could always lower the tax to eliminate black market all together, might even make money money in tax by selling more luxury cars at decent prices

Spot on.

But it depends what the Government's thinking is behind the massive import tax.

Are they trying to make money- always useful.

Or are they trying to protect the Thai car industry , I wonder if part of the deal to get the big Japanese manufacturers to locate here is to wipe out the opposition.

Absolutely agree- put on a reasonable purchase / import tax on BMW or Benz etc and sales would rocket and revenues increase .

[Tuk Dua]

_{What is the justification for the extremes of import duty. None. It will only encourage more attempts to avoid the tax. Its about time the manufacturers of the "luxury" car take note of the differences in CBU and locally assembled vehicles, and gain sales by lower prices in the showrooms. Take a leaf out of Ducati's sales book !!}

[lvr181]

Could always lower the tax to eliminate black market all together, might even make money money in tax by selling more luxury cars at decent prices

NO NO NO - not allowed! That is farang way, not Thai. We know, we have the answers, not need farang to help

[coobah666]

Quick ring the police that old man just walked past with two buffalo.

[Lammbock]

Just reduce the ridicules hight TAX on luxury cars and these problems will not happen again in the future.

300%!!!!! Are they serious?

[monkey4u]

" The smugglers are clearly influential people... "

Well that's an end to that investigation.

And there was me thinking it was a local street sweeper who was the ring leader

[catweazle]

Wow - and I thought the lux car scammers would be illiterate peasants... we never stop learning, do we?

[TheCruncher]

They finally figured out that the cars are being stolen in Malaysia. Insurance claimed and then being shipped or driven to Thailand and under the table registration docs issued.

The car is useless without a book clean your own backyard first.

It's been going on since forever.

What they found out the other day I, as a man in the street, was informed of a mere 10 years ago as what was going on in that showroom on Sukhumvit Pattaya Klang.

Anyone noticed how empty that showroom is since the past 6 months, however during an inspection by the DSI about a year ago, it was declared that all car documents were at the bank

[Neurath]

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Could always lower the tax to eliminate black market all together, might even make money money in tax by selling more luxury cars at decent prices

Be no point in having a luxury car if others could have them too - the influential criminals (oups, people) participating in the scam cleave more toward the definition of luxury as "an item that I can have that others cannot because they're not influential/rich and I am"

[Lobber]

Its clearly foreigners...Thais would never do anything like this

Lets blame the ..eeeerrrr... sh1t, we have blamed the Burmese for killings, we have blamed Cambodians for animal & people smuggling, cannot blame our Chinese friends as they are ya pi nong or the Singaporeans as we need somewhere to run to one day - sh1t we have only the Malaysians left ... so it must be them.

Cannot be the Brits as we cant afford luxury cars

[kotsak]

Unless the time comes when fingers will be pointed, names will be listed and faces shown on TV this place will remain FUBAR.

[monkeycountry]

'Influential people behind luxury car scam'

I guess blaming 2 burmese fishermen for that one would be too unbelievable, even for the Thai police.

[Dogmatix]

Big rings but not as big as a mafia family on a small island.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Dogmatix

[jmccarty]

Do the math (again):

Bht 1,800,000,000 = USD$ 60,000,000 (Bht1.8 billion is USD$60 million)

As above, a luxury car is more than Bht 4,000,000. Lets say Bht 5,000,000 then on average.

Bht 5,000,000 @ 300% import duty = Bht 15,000,000 tax. That's about USD$500,000 for each car that the country has lost!!

Oh dear, thats 120 luxury cars that have slipped through without paying tax!!!

Note to tax man: Lower the tax to 50% on luxury cars. That will bring in Bht1,800,000,000 for every 720 cars imported legally. 720 luxury cars will be sold in less than 1 month! And hire a 3rd grader to show you how math works or just look at my note above every day while you get the tax revenue you are complaining about losing now.

Better yet. Lower it to 50% for all imported cars. Takes the pain away!

Edited October 16, 2014 by jmccarty

[Evolare]

They finally figured out that the cars are being stolen in Malaysia. Insurance claimed and then being shipped or driven to Thailand and under the table registration docs issued.

The car is useless without a book clean your own backyard first.

It's been going on since forever.

The majority of the brand new luxury cars are not stolen they are bought new in other countries that don't impose these taxes and then smuggled in i would say most often in Containers declared to contain something else. Then customs officers are paid of not to open the Containers and just pass it through.

If just dropped the draconian taxes the illegal imports would end.

[wvavin]

What is the point of going to the media but no action is ever taken?

[SinCityGr8One]

I believe the following are the reasons for the High Tax on Vehicles in the Kingdom. For most new cars and trucks a 300% "road tax" is charged at time of purchase. For Luxury cars (BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc.) in the Kingdom, the road tax is 600%. The reason being is that the Tax generated, pays for road construction and maintenance. I also believe that a Tax of 500% is imposed on Tobacco and Alcohol. The Government determined that Cigarette smokers and Alcohol drinkers spend more time in Hospital than those that refrained from those habits. So, that tax is used to make all Government Hospital's essentially free (30 Baht for their service). I believe that those are the original reasons and might or might not be still valid.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Mystery in May 29 Pak Chong luxury car fire last year divulged



BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has revealed that the six luxury cars that caught fire and burnt in Nakhon Ratchasima while being delivered to customers on May 29 have proven to include two stolen cars from Malaysia and the rest illegally imported cars to avoid full import duty.

Authorities believe that this is part of an international automobile smuggling ring operating from across the border in Malaysia, according to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).

A DSI officer Pol Lt Col Korawat Paprapakrn said that the truck load of high end premium cars that erupted in flames last May 2013 in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, on its way to Sisaket is part of an illegal automobile smuggling ring.

The case which is now over a year old created quite a stir when investigators were accused of taking hefty bribes to cover-up the incident, he said.

But the officer denied the accusations and stated that the case is still under investigation and that evidence revealed that the six premium cars were being illegally brought in from across the border.

All cars were brought in whole (CBU) but registered as “kit cars” to avoid the 300% import tax which is the standard luxury import tax for completely built-up cars (CBU). The claim was that the cars came across the border unassembled as “kit cars” which reduced the import duty to only 79% of the cars’ costs

He said the six burnt automobiles were smuggled from across the border. The shipment included two Mercedes Benz which have been impounded and Malaysian police have confirmed that they were reported stolen.

On cross checking with InterPol, investigators discovered that the two Mercedes Benz’s that were part of the shipment were reported stolen in Malaysia and were being primed to be registered in the Kingdom as kit cars although they were brought in whole.

The Bentley in the shipment was also identified to have been part of a 500 car shipment which was reported stolen from the Tax Free Zone by the Customs Department.

The brown Lamborghini within the shipment turned out to be registered as being white by its manufacturer and that the specifications of this particular vehicle matched those of a current car still in use in the USA, he explained

The DSI has issued an arrest warrant for two Malaysia nationals as well as three other local suspects for their implication in this case.

“All six cars were brought in CBU however we have evidence that they were smuggled whole by Malaysian nationals,” he said.

The Ministry of Land Transport’s database revealed that there are 6,575 cars registered as kit cars.

However there is concrete evidence that 1,350 were in fact imported CBUs to avoid full import duty; this is valued at over 2 billion baht of losses in excise tax to the state.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/mystery-may-29-pak-chong-luxury-car-fire-last-year-divulged/

-- Thai PBS 2014-10-16

[Time Traveller]

How can any government honestly charge a tax of 300% ?

Edited October 16, 2014 by Time Traveller

[Time Traveller]

With a minimum of 300% tax on a luxury car not made in Thailand what do they expect. That's the biggest robbery I see here, excessive import tax.

exactly, 300% tax means you are encouraging criminal activity. If it was a more reasonable 30%-60% I'm sure most people would pay it as there would not be such a lucrative profit margin.

Unfortunatly commonsense eludes Thai governments.

[Chang_paarp]

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has revealed that the six luxury cars that caught fire and burnt in Nakhon Ratchasima while being delivered to customers on May 29 have proven to include two stolen cars from Malaysia and the rest illegally imported cars to avoid full import duty.

Now there is a surprise!

Who would have thought that the illegal cars would have been torched prior to delivery?

[Loles]

Every-one know what about the truth around these cars, expect the DSI ...