The Customs Department plans to destroy seized luxury cars that have broken down to prevent importers who smuggled them from buying them back at cheap prices, says the department head.
Importers always remove some devices from smuggled cars to make engines malfunction, letting customs officials impound the cars before sending representatives to bid on them at Customs Department auctions, said director-general Krisada Chinavicharana.
The tactic lets them buy these vehicles at cheap prices as other bidders shy away, he said, getting them at a lower cost before reselling at market prices.
To prevent this, Mr Krisada instructed customs officials to destroy seized cars that do not function.
He said the department is also mulling whether to update a deductible expense for imported cars stated in a department announcement after car importers requested the tax-collecting agency raise the expense.
Some expenses have declined in recent days, Mr Krisada said.
Deductible expenses are included in the benchmark prices of imported cars used by the Customs Department in tax computation.
Should importers agree with the updated benchmark prices, the Customs Department will use them in the tax calculation, Mr Krisada said.
The benchmark price calculation is based on the retail price of country of origin, less value-added tax and a certain percentage deduction, he said.