The impact of last week's earthquake is unlikely to affect Thai GDP this year, says Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Paopoom said the damage caused by the earthquake would not be significant for the Thai economy. Nevertheless, he noted that the assessment of the extent of the impact was still ongoing, but the initial expectation was that it would not affect GDP this year.
In January, the Fiscal Policy Office reported that Thailand's economic growth in 2024 stood at 2.5%, with an expected average growth of 3% this year, driven by private consumption, exports, tourism, and both public and private sector investments. The Finance Ministry will closely monitor the situation and implement supportive policies to maintain stability and promote sustainable economic growth in Thailand, said Mr Paopoom.
In a related development, Mr Paopoom yesterday presided over the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Excise Department and Global Jet Express (Thailand) Co and KEX Express (Thailand) to collaborate on the inspection, seizure and confiscation of tax-evading goods.
He said that this collaboration would let Excise Department officials inspect tax-evading goods in logistics companies that have signed the MoU, eliminating the need for a search warrant as previously required.
According to Mr Paopoom, this MoU lets Excise Department officials freeze, seize and confiscate goods transported through logistics companies, enhancing efforts to prevent and suppress the smuggling of excise tax-evading goods via parcel delivery services.
Additionally, he emphasised that the Excise Department has a "Zero Tolerance: Excise Tax Evading Goods Must Be Eliminated" policy. Under this policy, the department has been instructed to take stringent action against tax-evading goods, focusing on preventing and cracking down on illegal imports that bypass excise tax obligations.
This initiative aims to prevent and curb excise tax avoidance while strictly enforcing excise laws in line with government policies. The department has been directed to enhance enforcement measures comprehensively, particularly in cracking down on the smuggling of untaxed goods through parcel delivery services.
To strengthen these efforts, authorities are expanding their collaboration with all logistics companies to improve data collection for analysis, screening, and the development of Big Data. This will aid in tracking offenders and dismantling the supply chain of illegally transported excise tax-evading goods.
