The blockchain technology is once again proving to be very useful for official affairs. The most recent example is coming from Asian lands, more specifically, from Thailand, as the Excise Department in Thailand is reportedly going to come up with a new way of refunding overpaid taxes to oil exporters with the help of the world-changing technology.
It was revealed in recent days that the Thailand Excise Department will make modifications to the currently functioning tax refund policy and will start to employ a blockchain-based tax payback system. The idea is to start implementing the new practice in the middle of next year.
Requirements for Oil Exporters
The information was revealed this week by the director-general Patchara Anuntasilpa, and he offered his remarks to local publication the Bangkok Post. The authority observed that the soon to be implemented tax payback blockchain system will require those that export oil to pay excise tax and claim overpaid taxes once they ship the fuel.
He also explained that thanks to the blockchain technology, the whole process will be more efficient and transparent, allowing the department to inspect the tax payments more smoothly.
Right now, the oil and fuel exporters have to submit lots of documents and paperwork to earn a tax waiver, not to mention that the process of inspecting isn’t thorough and could use a sizable improvement, per Patchara.
Smoothening the Process
Patchara observed that the whole tax refund process will be shorter if the oil exporters can file the respective documents smoothly and correctly. Regarding the platform in which the proposed approach will run, the department is saying that it is currently in conversations with Krungthai Bank (KTB) to help it set up the blockchain-based refund ecosystem.
According to sources familiar with the oil industry in the country, the excise tax exception for oil-related exports is approximately 6 million baht per year. With the new system in place, the expectation is that the costs to operators could potentially increase if the process to collect tax refunds takes time.
A More Efficient, Faster System
Those exporting oil want the department to come up with a system that can process tax efficiently, according to the mentioned source, which preferred to talk with the condition to remain anonymous.
Another source, currently under employment at the department, specified that the proposed modification in the tax payback policy will let the organization perform better and smoother inspections of tax payments, as well as prevent operators from smuggling the exported oil for selling it locally and enjoy the tax waiver at the same time.
It looks like an official announcement on the collaboration between the KTB and the Excise Department in Thailand is just around the corner, as the latter will feed from the former’s blockchain technology and upgrade services on the digital platform. Besides the use of the distributed ledger technology for exported oil tax refunds, there are two additional pilot projects: e-bank guarantees and annual fee payment for liqueur, tobacco, and playing card distribution licenses.
By Andres Chavez
