Thai authorities have filed legal action against the Thailand unit of global tobacco giant, Philip Morris International Inc., for charges on tax evasion having allegedly under-declaring the value of cigarettes imported from the Philippines.
Attorney General's Spokesman, Somnuek Siengkong, stated during press conference that the case was finally brought before the Criminal Court after a long-running investigation. Reportedly, Philip Morris Thailand Limited made false declarations undervaluing 272 batches of Philippine-made Marlboro and L&M Brand cigarettes brought into the country between July 2003 and June 2006.
The lawsuit named eight defendants including foreign and Thai executives. Seven Thai defendants have purportedly reported on the case and were released on bail. Meanwhile, four foreign executives are facing warrant arrests for failing to attend earlier hearings. Among the defendants included PMTL manager, Troy Modlin, Bangkok Post reports.
The offences committed by PMTL were allegedly passing false declaration of the true value of cigarette imports in order to evade taxes. As per the investigation reveals, the subsidiary tobacco company has evaded taxes and duties amounting to more than 20 billion baht.
If found guily, Philip Morris and its Thailand-based executives will be subjected under the Customs Law penalty of charges leading up to four times the estimated cost of the imported goods plus tax. They will also face a jail term of 10 years or be fined with both.
On the other hand, PMTL released a statement on Monday that the company is ready to fight the legal charges which they deemed to be "meritless" and "unjust".
"The company intends to vigorously defend itself against these meritless charges and demonstrate that it is in full compliance with Thai law and international standards of customs valuation," the company said in a statement, as cited by Straits Times.
The cigarette manufacturer also confidently disclosed that the company is following the import valuations under World Trade Organization rules that aim to create a uniform way to value goods for customs purposes. Hence, Philip Morris declares that the company "has done nothing wrong."
Philip Morris also stated that Thailand's actions against them could backfire to the country as it risks discouraging investors from the global community following this case.
