CHEVRON Thailand may be hit with a tax bill of close to Bt7 billion, said an informed source at the Finance Ministry.
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong has been asked by the Office of the Auditor-General to collect back taxes from Chevron Thailand, a giant producer of natural gas and crude oil.
The tax examination started when current Customs Department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri questioned the previous customs and tax procedures relating to oil transported to be used at oil rigs in the Gulf of Thailand, which resulted in Chevron paying no tax for oil it transported to its offshore oil rigs since 2001.
Kulit raised the point that oil sent by Chevron Thailand to its offshore rigs should not be counted as exports.
As a result of this new interpretation of tax law, Chevron should have paid an excise tax, an Oil Fund levy and 7 per cent value-added tax since 2001.
The Bt7-billion collection figure could include a tax surcharge as well as a fine, according to the source.
The source said the company might be spared the fine if it acted in good faith after receiving advice on the matter from the Customs Department but it might not be spared the tax surcharge of 1.5 per cent.
Thailand's sovereignty rights are at the heart of the issue, as there are two schools of thought on this subject among customs officials.
Since 2001, oil transported by Chevron to its offshore rigs has been counted as exports by the Customs Department, with customs officials referring to Thailand's maritime claim stipulating that its territorial sovereignty does not exceed 12 nautical miles.
So oil transported farther than 12 nautical miles from the coast must be counted as exports and benefit from a tax exemption.
However, the Revenue Code and Petroleum Act extend Thailand's sovereignty rights to cover 200 nautical miles of an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. So oil transported within the 200-mile radius should not be counted as exports and as such should be subject to a tax payment.
Apisak is likely to agree with this argument, according to the source.