Excise officers in Trat and marine police seized 3,800 litres of illegal diesel from a fishing boat in Khlong Yai in the early hours of today, April 17, after receiving a tip-off about untaxed fuel entering Thai waters.
At about 1am, officers searched the vessel at Por Kasemsiri pier in Khlong Yai district, Trat. Surachai, a 62 year old man who identified himself as the boat owner, led officers during the inspection.
Inside the boat, officers found 19 drums of untaxed diesel, each with a capacity of 200 litres, for a total of 3,800 litres. Surachai admitted buying the diesel for 28 to 30 baht per litre without tax documents or any legal proof of payment.
He told officers the fuel had been bought at sea from a large vessel. It was transferred first to a smaller boat before being delivered to his fishing boat for use in fishing work.
Officers charged him with possessing untaxed goods under the Excise Tax Act 2017. Surachai confessed to the charge and agreed to pay the fine. He was then taken, along with the seized fuel, to Khlong Yai Police Station for legal action.
DailyNews reported that the excise tax was calculated at 7.44 baht per litre, with a penalty set at five times the tax amount. For 3,800 litres, the unpaid tax totalled 28,272 baht, and the fine came to 141,360 baht.
After agreeing to pay the tax and fine, Surachai was allowed to keep using the diesel because it had then been taxed in line with the law.
Based on his claimed purchase price of at least 28 baht per litre, the 3,800 litres would have cost 106,400 baht. After tax and fines of 141,360 baht were added, the cost rose to about 65.2 baht per litre, which is higher than pump prices.
Officials said that if the diesel had not been seized, it would have cost about 50% less than market prices.
Elsewhere, officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) found three illegal fuel storage sites in Saraburi province, seizing more than 29,000 litres of suspected smuggled diesel and gasoline during a nationwide crackdown.
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