Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 2: Management and Designation of Ports, etc.

His Majesty the King shall appoint or shall be graciously pleased to permit the Minister to appoint a suitable person as a chief management of the Customs Department to inspect the activities which are the duties of such department. Such person, hereinafter called the "Director-General", shall have the duty to supervise and control the staff of the Customs Department, the power to grant salaries and allowances, to require securities for good conduct, and to issue rules as he may deem necessary for the proper operation of the Department and its enforcement accordingly.

For the purpose of importation and/or exportation of goods and customs control, the Minister shall have the power to issue Ministerial Regulations:

1. to provide that any port or place in the Kingdom is a port or place for the importation and/or exportation of any or all types of goods by sea or by land, or to be a port or place for the exportation of goods for which an application for the repayment of import duty has been made or for bonded goods, provided that certain conditions may be imposed as he deems fit;
2. to provide that any airport in the Kingdom is a customs airport under the conditions as he deems fit;
3. to designate the customs limits in any port, place or airport so provided.

The Director-General may provide a boarding station for arriving and departing ships, and may station an official on any ship while remaining in Thai territorial waters.

1. The Director-General may designate any number of proper places to be a legal quay for the loading and unloading of goods, and may specify the bounds of such quay. No vessel shall load or unload goods elsewhere other than the place so provided or within the area approved by the Director-General, and the Director-General may require the owner or guardian of such place to leave security by bond or other things to his or her satisfaction;
2. The Director-General may orally issue an order on where the examination of imported and exported goods shall take place and the procedure for such examination, and may force the construction of and the approval for the construction of a godown or place of security as the place for the examination and storage of uncleared goods. All such godowns and places of security shall be provided with a proper office and with proper fence and gate to the satisfaction of the Director-General. All gates and doors shall be secured by the Government’s lock and key, the key of which shall be kept at the Customs House. Any person who unlawfully removes such locks or furtively enters into such godown or place of security shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand Bath or both the fine and imprisonment;10
3. If a trader or an owner or a guardian of a quay, godown, or place of security suffers damage by reason of the Government’s lock not being opened at the proper time for the commencement of work (the commencement of the official day, the commencement of an overtime under an official permit), the Customs Department shall be liable to compensate such trader, owner, or guardian in an amount of not exceeding the actual damage;
4. No uncleared goods shall be transferred, bulked, sorted, lotted, packed or repacked on any quay or godown except with the permission and under the supervision of an official;
5. The official supervising any quay or godown may order the transfer of uncleared goods to a godown or enclosed place of security whenever possible and necessary for the protection of state revenue interests. No uncleared goods shall be left in any open part of a quay where, in the opinion of the Director-General, the Customs Department may not be able to protect them sufficiently;
6. In order that the collection of duties levied on hazardous goods be in accordance with the safety of loading, unloading or storing of such goods within any customs limit, the Director-General, after consultation with the person in charge of the port, place or airport of such customs limit, shall have the power to issue a Notification in the Government Gazette specifying types or categories of hazardous goods and the methods for the collection of duties for such goods as well as the conditions for loading, unloading, storing and removing such goods from such customs limit, in so far as it is not contrary to other related laws.11

1. All quays, godowns, and places of security in the port of Bangkok which is in use at the time of the promulgation of this Act shall be deemed as quays, godowns, and places of security approved under the preceding section, provided that there shall be no means of access to such godown and place of security when the Government’s lock is on;
2. after the promulgation of this Act, if any person applies for an approval of a quay, godown, or place of security and the Director-General is not willing to grant such approval, he shall notify the applicant of his objection in writing within ten days as from the date of receipt of the application if such place is situated within the Port of Bangkok, or within two months if it is situated elsewhere. If such objection is not delivered within the time specified, such place shall be deemed to be approved. If the Director-General and the applicant are unable to reach an agreement, two arbitrators from each party shall be appointed to adjudicate on the dispute. If the arbitrators of both parties cannot reach an agreement, such arbitrators shall appoint an umpire whose decision shall be final;
3. provisional approval of places which are proposed to be established may be granted upon the submission of a plan;
4. the owner or guardian of every quay, godown, or place of security approved under this Act shall receive a Notification of such approval in writing. This notice shall clearly indicate the boundaries and rules governing such a place. If an owner or guardian submits a true plan of such place, that plan shall be certified by the Director-General. An approval of any place so indicated and provided shall be valid so long as such place remains unchanged in terms of construction and rules, and so long as the security remains to the satisfaction of the Director-General.

An owner or guardian of a godown shall pay an annual license fee for each godown approved under section 6 or section 7 as prescribed by the Minister in a Ministerial Regulation.

The Director-General may approve and designate a place for the examination and storage of imported goods as a bonded warehouse and may prescribe procedures and limitations on the storage of goods including the regulations for operation, inspection and control of the bonded warehouse as he deems fit.

In order to secure the payment of tax, duty or other dues which may be required by the Customs Department under the law or an agreement, the Director-General may require an owner or guardian of a bonded warehouse to provide security by bond and/or otherwise to his/her satisfaction.

An owner or guardian of a bonded warehouse shall pay an annual licence fee as prescribed by the Minister in a Ministerial Regulation.

The Director-General shall have the following powers:

1. to approve the establishment of a bonded warehouse for displaying and selling goods stored therein in accordance with the regulations laid down by him;
2. to approve the establishment of a bonded warehouse for producing, mixing, assembling, packing, or performing any other procedure on the goods imported and stored therein in accordance with the regulations laid down by him.

Unless otherwise provided, the bonded warehouse under (1) and (2) shall be subject to the provisions on bonded warehouse.

All warehouses, godowns, or other places of security, whether for the examination or storage of goods, shall be established and maintained by and at the cost of the merchants or other persons concerned.