The Department of Foreign Trade warns that forging certificates of origin for goods and using them to claim special tax privileges in the destination country is not only illegal but also leads to intensified inspections of Thai exports.
Director-General of Department of Foreign Trade, Ronnarong Phoolpipat said that during the year 2023 (January – October), the department, as the main agency responsible for issuing Certificates of Origin (C/O), received 585 requests from Chinese customs to verify the authenticity of Form E. This form is used to claim tax privileges under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that some individuals had maliciously fabricated Form E to falsely claim tax privileges with Chinese customs. The reference numbers on these fake Form E documents were not found in the department’s certification system.
According to the statistical analysis of Form E issuance in 2023 (January – October), a total of 217,007 certificates were issued, accounting for an export value of 20.5 billion U.S. dollars.
The 585 forged Form E certificates represented only 0.27% of the total, primarily associated with fresh durians and pomeloes.
While the percentage of forged certificates is relatively small compared to the total Form E issuance, it has a significant impact on the credibility of Thailand’s certificates of origin. Increased incidents could lead to stricter scrutiny by Chinese customs on Thai products, particularly affecting the export of fruits to China.
The department is rigorously investigating and pursuing legal actions against those involved in forging Form E.
Additionally, it has introduced a new certificate issuance system, known as DFT SMART C/O, which will be operational for four agreements, namely RCEP, ASEAN-Hong Kong, ASEAN-Japan, and Thailand-Peru, starting from December 15, 2023. (TNA)
