Customs to take case to public prosecutors against importer of NGV buses

[snoop1130]

Customs to take case to public prosecutors against importer of NGV buses

 

 

The Customs Department has demanded Super Zara, importer of NGV buses, to settle the 40 percent unpaid import tax for the first lot of 100 NGV buses that the company falsely declared they were assembled in Malaysia or the department will take the case to the public prosecutors.

 

Mr Chaiyuth Kamkhun, deputy director-general of Customs Department, said Monday that Super Zara imported altogether 489 NGV buses in two lots – the first 100 and the remaining 389 in the second lot – into the country for Bestlin Group which won the contract to supply Bangkok Mass Transit Authority with 489 NGV buses at over 1.3 billion baht.

 

He said that Super Zara had paid import tax for the second lot of 389 buses but maintained that they were assembled in Malaysia with local contents. But for the first lot of 100 buses, the company has so far refused to pay the import tax, claiming they were assembled in Malaysia and eligible to import tax exemption under the AFTA agreement.

 

Full Story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/customs-take-case-public-prosecutors-importer-ngv-buses/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-4-10

[ratcatcher]

Get the bloody buses on the roads carrying fare paying passengers and start removing the red and white antiques. Just do it!

Edited April 10, 2017 by ratcatcher

[colinneil]

It would appear that someone in authority at the customs department is determined to hang on and keep causing more delays until they get their cut.

Stop this nonsense, get the damn buses on the road.

[ChrisY1]

3 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Get the bloody buses on the roads carrying fare paying passengers and start removing the red and white antiques. Just do it!

I imagine that everyone agrees with your sentiments.....but Thais are stubborn animals and always want the last word...and of course as usual, the public be damned!

[bangrak]

It seems the previous posters don't care the tiniest bit about the fraudulent acts the contracted company (and its subsidiaries) are suspected to have committed, nor about the consequences of their despicable attitude! For their creature's comfort (do they make regular use of such busses?) or that of passengers in general? What a laugh!

I hope the Customs Dpt goes on with its actions, as it seems the BMT has been tip-toeing a lot, in very indecisive way, who knows, because of some of the, very popular, donut boxes, or so, while the contract in itself could already (since the end of december) have been declared nil and void, but...

It's a quite simple story though (well, for a Thai story...): BMT wants to buy NGV busses, through an open(?) tender company 'x' is selected to deliver the busses for a U/P of $$$, in the contract such busses are said to be assembled in Malaysia, mainly for better quality, and favourable duty inside ASEAN. The first batch of busses are delivered by a cargo ship, coming from the PR China, which has briefly, made a Malaysian port, where the busses on board of it(!) were unloaded, and at once shipped again. At the port of arrival in Thailand, the busses were presented with forged documents, claiming they had been assembled in Malaysia to avoid the, much higher, duties which would have been levied when the busses would have been not only produced (in the PR China, what was never put into doubt by any side), but also assembled outside ASEAN countries, for which preferential rates apply.

What's all the hassle about? Well, that the cost, for the seller, of busses produced, and, assembled in PR China is much lower, and it 'seems' he attempted to make extra profit on importing 'finished' busses from the PR China, while pretending they were, like stipulated in the contract, 'built in Malaysia', while claimining preferential duties for ASEAN products.

And, for the previous posters: the quality is worse, the security is less, the lifespan is shorter, etc., etc.

But it doesn't matter to you, is it? Greed and corruption in Thailand, blah-blah-blah, but, now that, for once, an abuse(!) is documented, and pursued by some authorities, they should close an eye on it, seriously!?

Allow me to call you a bunch of selfish (when you would really be using such busses...?) HYPOCRITES! 

[Thaiwine]

Just deduct the tax before paying for the buses then pay the balance to the suppliers.

Job done.

[DPKANKAN]

Tha whole system of purchase is corrupted. The contract is potentially null and void. If the bus company/government had any sense they would offer the suppliers say 40-50 baht in the 100 baht or rescind the contract!! But all tbe fingers in all those pies.....

[Srikcir]

11 hours ago, bangrak said:

It's a quite simple story though

No it's not. This story starts with BMTA accused of collusion by Bestlin with another supplier and things go downhill from there. You can do the research if you care.

 

Bestlin has made a guarantee payment to Customs for the alleged import tax in order to meet its delivery obligations. The matter of import tax should remain solely between Customs and Bestlin. The buses have otherwise been registered with BMTA and met their TOR performance requirements.

 

[natway09]

In this case the Minister of customs is correct.

Let this fraudulent  dec' go & many companies will follow suit.

 

[Laughing Gravy]

One extreme corrupt entity against another corrupt company. Is it a competition who has the 'biggest pecker' and who is 'the daddy of corruption'. For one moment I thought it was about what is best for the people but sense and reality set in.

 

I imagine someone isn't getting their cut of the pie as promised.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Laughing Gravy

[bangrak]

On 11-4-2017 at 11:13 AM, Srikcir said:

No it's not. This story starts with BMTA accused of collusion by Bestlin with another supplier and things go downhill from there. You can do the research if you care.

 

Bestlin has made a guarantee payment to Customs for the alleged import tax in order to meet its delivery obligations. The matter of import tax should remain solely between Customs and Bestlin. The buses have otherwise been registered with BMTA and met their TOR performance requirements.

 

According to you it seems Bestlin and its subsidiaries are 'the nice guys' in this story, is it?

Not to say the BMTA officials' reactions (or the lack of) have left an impression of fortitude, far from it (the 'commissions' paid in a deal of this size must be huge...)!

But, allow me, IMO, to see a clear intent of defrauding the BMTA (the taxpayers) on the Bestlin & consorts side. So clear, the shadow-puppetry show with the ship, briefly, very briefly, too briefly, transitting in Malaysia, gives me the 'feeling' the Bestlin guys felt oh so safe nobody would stick its nose into their dirty game.

To see it as pitch black as it, alas, often goes here, one might suspect that some people at the Customs Dpt. were maybe 'forgotten' when Santa Bestlin dealt the coocky boxes around (when not I guess we would never have heard about any wrong doing)...

Though this does not make Bestlin &Co. honest and clean people, is it? Nor should it be an excuse for the BMTA to go on NOT doing its job in a decent and correct way. But what can the taxpayers, and many other public transportation users do against the 'mandarins' from BMTA...?