DSI Press Statement on Investigation into the Import of Mercedes-Benz

DSI Press Statement on Investigation into the Import of Mercedes-Benz

Further to the receipt of complaint requesting the Department of Special Investigation (DSI)  to launch an investigation involving the Mercedes-Benz with the license plate no.  Khor Mor 0099 (Bangkok), a reassembled car owned by Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn (Chuang Varapunyo), and to establish whether or not the car is legitimate, the DSI has conducted  the investigation into the case, of which the findings can be summarized as follows:

The vehicle in question is a gas-powered Mercedes-Benz type 300 B sedan manufactured  in Germany in 1953, with the cylinder capacity of 2996 cc, chassis no. 18601400420/53 and engine no. 1869204500552. The car is currently kept in the museum on the ground floor of Phra Maha Chedi building in the compound of Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen. The registration record from the Department of Land Transport indicates that the vehicle was registered on 26 August 2011 to Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn (Chuang Sudprasert) as the first and only owner. The car was declared as being reassembled from used car parts, and the excise tax was paid accordingly, as indicated in the receipt no. C10010054/0003562 of 1 July 2011 issued by the Bangkok Excise Office 1. The vehicle was installed with LPG tank no. 002290, with certification from the engineer Mr. Suparom issued on 16 August 2011 and expired on 15 August 2016. On 1 August 2013, the Vehicle Registrar approved the change of the vehicle’s license plate no. from Khor Mor 0099 to Ngor Kor 1560 (Bangkok), and on the same day the car was registered as unused.

The DSI’s investigation as to whether the car was reassembled reveals that the vehicle  at issue belongs to the S-class type which is manufactured on a small scale, and requires the following 4 steps: (1) import of car parts, (2) reassembly of a complete car, (3) payment of excise tax, and (4) registration with the Department of Land Transport. The investigation findings can be summarized as follows:

(1)  Import of car parts

Evidence suggests that the car’s engine and chassis were shipped by order of Odd 89 Enterprises Limited Partnership from the United States to Thailand via the same shipper  (ILS, Inc.). The chassis was shipped on board the ship VAN HARMONY on 17 September 2010, with CT Auto Parts Limited Partnership as the importer. The engine was shipped only two days later, on 19 September 2010, on board the ship NYK ARGUS, with Cargo Car Co., Ltd.  as the importer. After that, a representative of Odd 89 Enterprises obtained the imports from the importing companies. However, no proof of import has been found for other components (hood, rear hood, head lights, tail lights, turning lights, seats, doors, as well as front- and rear-bumpers). Instead, evidence indicates that they were purchased from Saichon Motor Limited Partnership, an entity with neither business address nor records at the Civil Registry, the Department of Business Development or the Revenue Department. This amounts to the forgery of documents to delude the authorities into believing that  the components were obtained domestically.

The DSI is of the opinion that this step may constitute an offence under Section 27 of  the Customs Act B.E. 2469 (1926) for attempting to evade payment of customs tax, or for evading or attempting to evade laws or restrictions applicable to importation. The owner may also be subject to an offence under Section 27 bis for accepting, by any means whatsoever, the property known to be imported into the Kingdom without payment of any applicable duties. Also, Section 6 of the Emergency Decree on Customs Tariffs B.E. 2530 (1987) prescribes that if it appears to the Director-General of Customs Department that the duty chargeable upon any complete article is evaded by means of importing, simultaneously or otherwise, such article in separate parts, the duty chargeable upon such separate parts shall integrally be assessed at the rate for complete article. In this light,  the DSI will issue a letter requesting the Director-General of Customs Department to consider taking actions in accordance with the law. In parallel, actions will be taken with regard to the offence of document forgery and other offences, if any.

(2)  Reassembly of a complete car

Evidence further indicates that Odd 89 Enterprises, in conjunction with Vichan Garage, reassembled the vehicle from the engine and chassis obtained from Stage (1), and the car components (of which no proof of import is found), by order of a senior monk at the cost of baht 4,000,000. The sum was divided between Odd 89 Enterprises (baht 2,500,000) and Vichan Garage (baht 1,500,000).

As regards the reassembly, the investigation brings to light the fact that Vichan Garage has  no required permit, whereas N.P. Garage, a registered car assembly factory, was misrepresented as the one to reassemble the car. Thus, the reassembly of this vehicle is not in compliance with Section 25 of the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2527 (1984), and may also constitute an offence under 162 (1) for selling or having for sale the merchandise known to be obtained through total or partial tax evasion.

(3)  Payment of excise tax

At this stage, evidence indicates that the excise tax for the reassembled car required under Section 48 (1), also in conjunction with Section 117, of the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2527 (1984) was paid by Mr. Chalat. To do so, the person forged the signature of Ms. Kanchana,  the owner of N.P. Garage (a registered car assembly factory), in a power of attorney authorizing himself to represent Ms. Kanchana and filed a false statement claiming that  the car was reassembled by N.P. Garage. The registrar was deceived into believing so, and thus registered the vehicle and accepted the tax payment as requested by Mr. Chalat. This constitutes an offence under the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2527 (1984) and the Penal Code  for giving false statement to a competent official and for forging or using forged documents.

(4) Registration with the Department of Land Transport

Evidence suggests that Mr. Chalat hired Mr. Somnuek to register the vehicle with the Department of Land Transport (DLT). The signature of Ms. Kanchana was forged on the DLT’s application for vehicle registration transfer presented to a senior monk to make a false claim that N.P. Garage was selling the car to the monk. The signature of Ms. Kanchana was also forged on the power of attorney. The receipt/tax invoice for reassembly issued by STY Auto Parts Limited Partnership was also forged to deceive the officials into believing that STY Auto Parts Limited Partnership hired N.P. Garage to reassemble the car. As this constitutes a false statement, the car at issue is not eligible for registration under the Law  on Motor Vehicles and the DLT Regulation on Procedures on Motor Vehicle Registration and Tax under the Law on Motor Vehicles B.E. 2531 (1988).

The investigation reveals the fact that an offence was committed in each and every step of the process. In this regard, the DSI is of the opinion that the sophisticated, organized and potentially incriminating nature of this criminal act warrants the special method of operations in conducting an investigation and gathering evidence. The crime might also pose a serious threat to the public order or moral, or the national economic or financial system. In addition, an offence under Section 27 of the Customs Act B.E. 2469 (1926) (with regard to evading payment of customs tax, or evading laws or restrictions applicable to importation) as well as an offence under Section 165 of the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2527 (1984) (with regard to giving a false statement, or filing a false document in order to evade tax or in an attempt to evade tax) both amount to Special Case, to be investigated by Special Case Inquiry Officials, as prescribed in the Notification of the Board of Special Case (No. 4) B.E. 2554 (2011) on Offences amounting to Special Case under Section 21 Paragraph One (1) of the Special Investigation Act B.E. 2547 (2004). In this light, the DSI Director-General has made a decision to accept the case as Special Case to establish the offences and bring the offenders to justice.

DSI Spokesperson Team