The Customs Department has issued a statement asking importers to remove their imported luxury vehicles left at tax-free zones for over two years otherwise their vehicles will be either seized.
Importers of these vehicles have been given 90 days to remove them.
The announcement from the Customs Department came after the military junta recently issued an order under Article 44 of the Interim Constitution involving grey-market imports of luxury and high-end sports cars.
Under the order, importers who have imported these vehicles prior to August 25, 2014 – or have exceeded the 2 year allowance period and which are still in tax-free zones or free enterprise zones in industrial estates, must remove the vehicles within 90 days.
In elaborating on this, Customs Department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri stated that failure to remove the vehicles within the 90 day period will result in seizure and the Customs Department will then have the right to either put the vehicles up for public sale or have them destroyed.
However he said that other vehicles that are currently being kept in these zones but have yet to exceed the 2 year allowance period will be allowed to remain where they are until the 2 year term runs its course.
Records show that from 2009–2015 there were altogether 633 grey market import vehicles still being kept in these tax-free zones. Most are high-end luxury automobiles or sports cars.
Of these, 71 are Lamborghini ‘supercars’ and another 127 are expensive Mercedes Benz luxury automobiles and sports cars.
Almost all are not current models but older models of the respective brands that have failed to find buyers and have remained in the importers stocks.
The grey-market importers of these vehicles do not wish to put these vehicles up for sale and have kept them in these tax-free zones as to do so would mean having to pay very high import taxes.
There are altogether 326 such vehicles that have been kept in these areas by importers to avoid paying import taxes.
