Thailand to collect more excise tax

BANGKOK, December 23 (TNA) - The Excise Department, under the Thai Ministry of Finance, says that the ongoing cold weather has raised domestic sales of alcoholic beverages and Thailand is likely to, thus, collect more excise tax early next year. The department's director-general Somchai Poolsavasdi told reporters on Monday that Thailand's collected excise tax from October-November 2013 totaled 71.6 billion baht, 959 million baht higher than his department's earlier target. Somchai acknowledged that Thailand's rising sales of alcoholic beverages during the ongoing Christmas and New Year celebrations have raised the collected excise tax on such products. Somchai admitted, however, that the increase in the excise tax on alcoholic beverages has also raised smuggling, noting that his department took actions against more than 9,800 cases of goods smuggling and imposed fines worth 119 million baht from October to December 15, 2013, most of them were smuggled into southern Thailand. Somchai stressed that his department is strictly cracking down smuggled alcoholic beverages ahead of the New Year festival. As electronic cigarettes and electronic hookahs, which are prohibited in Thailand, have been gaining popularity, the Excise Department chief revealed that he has already asked the Customs Department to block their imports.(TNA)