Phanthong Loikullanun, Director-General of the Customs Department, revealed that the department is intensifying efforts to tackle the issue of falsifying product origin. They are preparing to consult with the Litigation Comparison Committee, which includes representatives from the Royal Thai Police and the Ministry of Finance, to consider raising the penalty fines for exporters who alter the origin of goods. This will be formalized through a departmental announcement.
The reason for considering tougher penalties is that, in the past, the Customs Department was unable to take strong legal action against counterfeit export goods because most exports are not subject to taxes. Consequently, previous fines used to settle cases were too light or only addressed false declaration offenses, which do not equate to the actual tax amounts involved.
Therefore, to ensure the measures are effective, the Customs Department plans to increase the penalty guidelines for cases involving falsification of product origin for export. They consider that even if no tax evasion occurs—since these are exports—the offense should still be punishable, potentially with penalties equivalent to tax sanctions.
This initiative aims to boost confidence in the authenticity of Thai product origins, particularly among key trading partners like the United States. However, revising penalty guidelines will take time and require thorough consideration, as it may impact other businesses that unintentionally declare incorrect tariff codes or information without intent to evade.
Currently, government agencies have formed a working group to collaborate and exchange information seriously. The focus is on monitoring various risky behaviors, such as the use of free zones where one type of product is imported and the same type exported, indicating a risk of counterfeit origin. Another concern is the forgery of “Made in Thailand” labels, with new tactics like importing foreign goods and printing “Made in Thailand” on them. The agencies also scrutinize companies importing and exporting identical products without any processing and share these risk data with the Department of Foreign Trade to exercise caution when issuing certificates of origin.