Historical Background

In those days, dated back to the reign of King Rama IV, a “Tax House” was established to collect Customs duties and taxes on imported goods. Later, the Government in the reign of King Rama V recommended a tax collection system which was first governed by the public sector. The Customs House was later founded and accountable for the collection of all kinds of duties and taxes. The House is presently known as the Customs Department. The Customs Department is one of the government agencies under the Ministry of Finance.

Since its founding, the key role of the Thai Customs Department has been collection of duties and taxes used as national incomes. Now new roles and functions are emerging and long term plans to meet new objectives are being set. The Department, besides maintaining the former roles and functions, has come to a turning point with need to provide faster and better service to public. Emphasis on the export promotion and the need to adhere to the commitments and obligations under international agreements effect the overall structure and administration of the Department. This leads to restructuring and attempts to achieve its new goals.

mission

1.To provide modern, expeditious, and global standard Customs service

2.To promote economic development and national competitiveness by implementing Customs-related measures

3.To enhance efficiency in Customs control, targeting at social protection

4.To collect revenue in an efficient, fair and transparent manner

Strategy

1.To align Customs business process with the world-class standards

2.To develop Customs measures, targeting at national competitiveness

3.To develop capacity for Customs control, focusing on the international standards

4.To manage a revenue collection system, focusing on the good governance principle

Main functions and responsibilities

• Collection of Customs taxes and duties;

• Collection of other import and export taxes on behalf of other government agencies such as value added tax (VAT), excise tax, and municipal tax;

• Supervision of imports and exports to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations;

• Prevention and suppression of smuggling, tax and duty evasion including other Customs offences;

• Promotion of manufacturing and export through tax measures; and

• Facilitation of international trade.

In addition, the Customs Department is also entrusted with the following functions:

• Providing recommendations on tariff policies to the Ministry of Finance by taking into consideration the current economic situation; and

• Compilation and publication of export-import statistics and other Customs-related information.