Some 38 luxury cars seized as part of an ongoing investigation into a major car import-tax-evasion scandal will be returned to their owners after Korawat Panpraphakorn, deputy director-general of Department of Special Investigation (DSI), signed an order to this effect.
A source at the Justice Ministry said the order, which will see the cars returned to the three companies that own them, was signed on Aug 29.
Seventeen Rolls-Royces will be sent to Millionaire Auto Sales & Services (Thailand) Co; a total of 17 Aston Martins, Ferraris and McLarens will be returned to Heritage Motor Sales and Services (Thailand) Co; and four Maseratis will go to Design Motor Work Co, the source.
Authorities have been rounding up imported supercars in recent months to verify their documents. A Customs Department investigation found that at least 123 may be part of a tax-evasion scam, dodging tax payments worth 1.8 billion baht in total.
A total of 259 supercars have been seized so far this year but a backlash from importers now seems to have put authorities on the back foot. Supercar importer Panusak Techaterasiri, aka Boy Unity, filed a 50-million-baht lawsuit against the DSI in June claiming the raids on his showrooms were unwarranted and dealt his company a heavy financial blow.
Meanwhile, Seri Shinbarami, managing director of Niche Cars Group, which had a total of 60 Lamborghinis and Ferraris seized by the DSI, is known to have petitioned the DSI lobbying for the return of his vehicles.
The ministry initially told Mr Seri his cars were confiscated because the company could not explain why the prices it declared on the invoices filed with the Customs Department did not correspond to the prices of the same models sold overseas, the source said.
Instead of mounting a credible defence, the company merely said other car importers should be be investigated as well, the source added.
"The DSI claims it has yet to receive evidence proving the retail prices of the cars that were imported from Britain, which makes it impossible for them to calculate the proper import taxes," the source said. "As such, the DSI investigators and the prosecutors have resolved to return them to their owners." The DSI will levy the correct taxes when it receives the paperwork in the event of any discrepancies, the source added.
Upon learning about the DSI's order to return the cars, the ministry demanded it be shown the resolution together with a list of all the investigators involved in the case for inspection.
The ministry wants to know the names of those who will be held responsible for the additional car import taxes which the customs authorities may have to collect if the importers fail to pay up, the source said.
Even though Britain did not supply the DSI with the showroom sale prices of the luxury cars as requested, but instead provided the factory prices, these can still be used to calculate the correct import taxes, the source added.
However, the DSI had not yet sent the information about the prices of the cars owned by the three companies to the Customs Department, which is responsible for assessing import tax.
