Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 13: Legal Proceedings

If in any prosecution in respect of any goods seized for non-payment on duties or for any other cause of forfeiture, or for the recovering any penalty or penalties under this Act, any dispute arises as to whether the proper duties have been paid in respect of such goods, or whether the goods have been legally imported, unshipped, exported, shipped, removed, stored, sold or otherwise dealt with, then and in every such case the burden of proof thereof shall be upon the defendant in such prosecution.

Any competent official, acting under the authority of the Director-General, may institute, prosecute, defend or conduct any proceeding before any Court in any matter relating to the customs.

Subject to section 102 bis, any person who is liable to prosecution under this Act, the Director-General, with the consent of such person and upon payment of such fine, or the conclusion of an agreement, bond, or security as the Director-General deems fit, may waive prosecution; and such waiver shall indemnify the offender against any further prosecution on account of the offence in question.

In case the offence involves a small amount of duties, a Ministerial Regulation may be issued authorizing the inquiry official to settle the case and waive the prosecution.

In the case where the Director-General deems fit to prosecute any person for making or submitting any declaration or record which is false or incomplete or misleading in any particulars, or for evading or attempting to evade in any manner whatsoever any payment of the proper duty or any restriction or prohibition, he shall record his opinion as to the reasons wherefore the offender should be prosecuted.

For the offences under Section 27, Section 31, Section 36 and Section 96; and the offences under Section 5, Section 5 bis and Section 10 of the Customs Act (No.7), B.E. 2480 (1937), provided that the value of the exhibits to which the duties have been included exceeds four hundred thousand Baht, the Committee consisting of a representative of the Customs Department, a representative of the Ministry of Finance and a representative of the Office of the National Police shall have the power to settle the case and waive the prosecution there of; and such waiver shall immunize the offender against any further prosecution on account of such offence.

The Director-General shall have the power to order the payment of bribes and rewards in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Director-General with the approval of the Minister in the following cases:

1. For a smuggling offence, or the importation or exportation of prohibited or restricted goods, fifty-five percent of the proceeds of sale of the exhibits shall be deducted and paid as bribe and reward. However, in the case where the exhibits have not been forfeited or cannot be sold, the amount of such payment shall be deducted for the fine. In the case where there is no informer for the arrest, thirty percent of the fine shall be deducted and paid as a reward;
2. For an offence of false declaration, fifty-five percent of the fine shall be deducted and paid as bribe and reward. However, in the case where there is no informer for the arrest, thirty percent of the said fine shall be deducted and paid as reward;
3. In the case where there is a deficit in the collection of duties which is discovered by an official investigating the duty resulting in additional duties being payable, ten percent of the additional duty levied and collected by the Customs Department shall be paid as a reward.

If it is necessary to assess the value of any goods for the purpose of determining the amount of a penalty, such value shall be deemed to be the price for goods of the same type for which the full customs or internal duties have been paid in accordance with the sale and purchase price at or around the time of the offence. However, the offender may choose to accept the assessment determined by the Director-General.

Notwithstanding any provisions of this Act, any Court may at its discretion impose on an offender a fine in addition to a term of imprisonment, provided such fine and term of imprisonment shall not, altogether, exceed the maximum penalty prescribed for such offence.

The owner of any vessel shall have a civil liability for the payment of any fine imposed on the master of the vessel for any offence in connection with this Act, and the owner or guardian of any premises shall be liable in a like manner for the payment of any fine imposed on an agent or occupier acting on his behalf or supervising his interests.