The Customs Department is considering raising the punishment for those who understate the declared prices of imported goods, with a potential fine of 10 times the value of the goods plus duties, up from four times at present.
Apart from increasing the fine, the department would block those who understate import prices from the customs clearance process and revoke their licence as customs brokers, said director-general Kulit Sombatsiri.
Hong Kong and Singapore, for instance, have set fines of up to 10 times the value of understated goods.
Although both territories have eased the customs process to make importing and exporting easier, violators face harsh penalties, Mr Kulit said during a meeting with department officials and private sector groups such as the Customs Broker and Transportation Association of Thailand and the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
The moves are aimed at addressing evasion of customs duties, he said.
In order to help customs officials inspecting the understating of imported prices, the Customs Department has issued the information of customs brokers who are at risk of declaring prices lower than they should be.
The department will also arrange a price database to reduce relying on customs officials' discretion in making decisions, with market prices used as a benchmark.
Mr Kulit said he has instructed high-ranking officials working at checkpoints nationwide to oversee and prevent their subordinates from getting involved in wrongdoing, adding that they must take responsibility when their staff are found guilty.
Moreover, customs officials at checkpoints must be punished if officials from the central office are able to arrest wrongdoers, he said.
Amendments to the law governing fines for customs-dodging and rewards given to officials and third-party whistleblowers are now being deliberated by the Council of State, he said.
The new law will lower the reward given to customs officials and third-party whistleblowers on any customs avoidance, reduce the penalty to make investigations more transparent, and curtail officials' over-zealous crackdowns on tax evasion driven by high rewards, as requested by the private sector.
The current reward-sharing system allocates 55% of the penalty recovered from an offender to be distributed as a reward without a cap on the amount. Of this amount, 30% is given to third-party whistleblowers. The rest is shared among officials who identified the offenders and handled the case.