The Revenue Department is setting up a panel to consider disciplinary action against officials involved in the decision to not appeal the Central Tax Court ruling in which two children of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra were excused for not paying tax on capital gains for the Shin Corp shares they sold to Temasek in 2006.
Yutthana Yimkarun, the Finance Ministry's chief inspector-general, said the disciplinary panel was being set up to conduct a probe against an unspecified number of its officials connected to the case, especially those attached to the Revenue Office Region 3.
He said the officials should have appealed against the court ruling as required by department regulations. At the time, the officials explained they feared the department would face heavy damages if they appealed and lost.
The case involved Shin Corp shares purchased in 2006 by Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra from Ample Rich, an offshore holding company controlled by the Shinawatra family.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) brought the case to court in December 2015. It accused Benja Louischaroen, who was deputy finance minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, Chamras Yamsoithong and Moreerat Boonyasiri, former legal affairs directors; and Krit Vipulanusat, then legal affairs director, of malfeasance in enabling Thaksin's children to avoid paying tax in the deal.
It came after the siblings bought 164.6 million Shin Corp shares at a par value of one baht in 2006 when the share price in the stock market was 49.25 baht.
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