Bangkok: Customs officials tightened their control on contraband goods in 2015, seizing over 2.7 billion baht worth of gold. They revealed that 70 billion baht worth of gold was exported to Cambodia and was properly declared without any irregularities.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Thirat Attanavanich, Director-General of the Customs Department, along with executives, announced the results of the seizure of illegal imports and exports of goods in accordance with government policy in the fiscal year 2025. These items included narcotics, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, e-cigarette accessories, e-cigarette liquids, unlicensed goods, and intellectual property infringement products, totaling 2.709 billion baht.
Regarding gold exports to Cambodia, which the FTI considers to be unusually high, it acknowledges that over the past seven months, approximately 70 billion baht has been exported to Cambodia. This amount was properly declared and has been consistently high for several years to neighboring countries. This is because Thailand is a trading hub for gold and gemstones, primarily importing gold from Switzerland. Whether this is money laundering or a gray business route will depend on the investigation of the money trail. It is acknowledged that customs procedures were followed as normal.
The Customs Department has continuously tightened its efforts to prevent and suppress illegal goods, along with facilitating faster and more streamlined customs procedures. This effort utilizes technology and innovation to enhance the country's competitiveness and sustainable economic security. Regarding the US push for Thailand to tighten regulations on the origin of goods, preventing Chinese products from falsely claiming Thai brands and primarily using Chinese components, Thailand has been continuously tightening its control. Regarding this issue, it is expected that this trend will begin to decrease.
The Director-General of the Customs Department added that the Customs Department's revenue collection for fiscal year 2025 (as of August 31, 2025) totaled 541.894 billion baht, of which 104.645 billion baht was customs revenue, 7.955 billion baht, or 7.07 percent, below the target and 4.366 billion baht, or 4 percent, lower than the previous year. The department expects to collect 114 billion baht by the end of the fiscal year due to a contraction in luxury automobiles and increased use of free trade agreements (FTAs).
Due to the FTAs ??with many countries, there has been a significant increase in the use of tax burden reduction privileges from free trade, resulting in a downward trend in customs duties. In fiscal year 2016, the Customs Department has set a target of collecting 113.5 billion baht. The Customs Department continues to implement measures to increase revenue collection efficiency to plug tax collection leaks.