Kitti Tangjitrmaneesakda, FTI's secretary-general, said the current regulations that have to be met by most industries are very troublesome because they are outdated - especially Article 27, which regulates smuggling, technical or human error, and tax-evasion laws.
The Customs Act dates back to 1926. He went on to say that the current rules under Article 27 were too broad and did not differentiate between actual crimes and simple human error, while the punishment was too harsh for people who unknowingly bring in undeclared or restricted products through various ports of custom.
The punishment for human error is the same as the punishment for smugglers, who are fined four times the price of the smuggled goods plus tax.
Kitti said this was "unfair" for those who bring in restricted goods unknowingly.
"For instance, when operators import tuna to be canned locally, as Thailand is a leading exporter of the product, they have to acquire raw materials from fishermen and sometime there is yellow-stripe scad stuck in the shipment unknowingly.
Now, because yellow-stripe scad is a protected species and a restricted product, operators end up being fined. However, this is a technical error as the operator has no intention of evading tax, also it is impossible for operators to know how many yellow-stripe scad are in the container beforehand, so applying this punishment is too harsh for a unintentional act," he said.
Kitti said other industries that had to mostly rely on the import of raw materials to make their products, such as the energy industry, were also experiencing the same problems from this troublesome rule.
"The operators pay the right taxes, go through correct regulations and have no intentions of evading tax. If you say they are wrong because they don't have the right papers as everyone should know the rules, then that's acceptable, but you cannot issue capital punishment to someone for stealing a glass of water. Punishment must be in proportion to the crime," he added.
Kitti said the new customs regulation should separate technical error from smuggling laws and punishment, and apply suitable fines for crime based on intention.
He also suggested that the Customs Department update its website and offer easy access to information on customs procedures and rules, as some vital information is missing and the data on the site is either incorrect or outdated. The website should also provide links to other agencies that have related regulations to the existing customs rules, he added.
As for the Factory Act, the FTI has suggested that the process of issuing permit number 4 (Ror Ngor 4) to open a factory should take less than 90 days.
Also, the Industry Ministry should be informed if there is corruption in the process, since some people can still manage to obtain the licence faster than others because they have the "right connection".