Satit admits role in alleged tax re

Satit admits role in alleged tax refund fraud
Revenue Department director-general Satit Rungkasiri admits he ordered swift tax refunds for companies now under investigation for allegedly fraudulent multi-billion-baht refund claims.
Mr Satit admitted yesterday that the voice on a clip of a man ordering quick tax refunds to be made was his.
The recording was made during a visit to the Office of Tax and Revenue Area 22, which oversees Bang Rak district.
The office raised suspicions about his role following an order by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to freeze the assets of 30 reportedly paper companies formed to file fraudulent VAT refund claims worth almost 4 billion baht.
Mr Satit said the order reflected a general policy of his department to relieve the financial burdens of parties who claimed tax refunds. He said officials can delay tax refund payments for six months for a company seeking one for the first time.
This is for verification purposes and to give officials time to decide whether they will approve the payment.
Mr Satit said he ordered the regional revenue authority to take over the management of tax refunds at the area office and ordered the office head to assist in his department's special projects after the controversy.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong earlier ordered deputy permanent secretary for finance Rungson Sriworasat to ask the DSI to investigate 30 companies which were allegedly formed to claim tax refunds.
The companies are under the Office of Tax and Revenue Area 22's jurisdiction and their directors are from the same group of people.
Some of the companies are said to be no more than deserted houses. They allegedly claimed tax refunds for false import of raw materials for export products in Bang Rak, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi and their claims amounted to about 4 billion baht. Each claim was for a tax refund of more than 100 million baht.
A source said Revenue Department officials are likely to be involved in the fraud because they should have been suspicious of such huge tax refund claims from newly established companies, and should have investigated the claims before paying out the refunds.
Mr Satit said he has always been tough on tax fraud. He gave an example from two years ago when he ordered a thorough examination of refund claims.
Besides, he said, revenue officials were gradually rotated to prevent them from being tempted into committing tax fraud in their areas of jurisdiction.