28/05/2021
📌📣In response to a circulation of news report following the overseas investigation on import duties involving with a Toyota affiliated company disseminated on the foreign website “www.law360.com” in the morning of 27 May 2021, local time (UTC+7),
The Office of the Judiciary makes the statements as follows: Firstly, after such news report was first published in April, the Office of the Judiciary has paid full attention on this matter and already sent a letter of coordination requesting information from the agency involved in the investigation in the United States through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A response from such agency in the US is now expected. It can be assured that, since having acknowledged this matter, the Office of the Judiciary has attempted to monitor and collect all relevant information and facts both in Thailand and foreign countries consecutively. When the news report refers to names and positions of certain individuals, the Office of the Judiciary is to inform their relevant affiliated agencies of the inspection in order to obtain information to be taken into consideration of further actions. The further action will be taken based upon the details of information obtained.
Secondly, where the Office of the Judiciary has obtained any information or established a probable finding that a misconduct has been committed, the Office of the Judiciary shall submit a report to the Judicial Commission (JC) for investigation without exception. The Office of the Judiciary affirms that the JC has continuously investigated and imposed a serious punishment for any action that would compromise the honour and dignity of judges, impair the impartiality of the court, and mislead the society to be skeptical of the Thai justice process. If any person is found guilty, disciplinary actions, as our consistent course of action, shall be strictly taken against the person.
Thirdly, in the case where Toyota Motor (Thailand) Company Limited, as a plaintiff, has filed a lawsuit against a tax authority, as the defendant, in connection with the import of auto parts into the Kingdom for the assembly of Prius model motorcar, it had sought to revoke the assessment and the appeal decision of the agency. The plaintiff filed a motion for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases had reversed the judgment and dismissed the case. According to this decision, the plaintiff was liable to pay tax pursuant to the assessment and the appeal decision. However, the order granting the leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was read on 29 March 2021. Therefore, in this case, the Supreme Court has yet to review the case merits, as there has been merely a grant of a motion for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and such appeal has been received by the Supreme Court for consideration. As the latest progress, the opposing party requested the extension of duration for filing a response to the appeal to the Supreme Court. The duration of which has been extended to 13 July 2021. Once the response is filed by the defendants, the Central Tax Court will present the case files to the Supreme Court for further consideration.
In the meantime, any action in the United States or Thailand is still underway and no final judgment or decision has been reached whether the offence had been committed as stated or not. Therefore, the public is kindly requested to be prudent and await the conclusive outcomes in both jurisdictions.
Source: เพจ "สื่อศาล" (สื่อศาล) at https://bit.ly/3usYAAj