Translation:Establishment of Tax Courts and Tax Case Procedure Act, 2525 BE
Table of contents
Volume 102Issue 120
Royal Gazette
5 September 2528
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Establishment of Tax Courts and Tax Case Procedure
Act,
2528 BE
Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 20th day of August 2528 BE
Being the 40th year of the present reign
His Majesty King Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej is pleased to give a Great Royal Command that it be announced as follows:
Whereas it is appropriate to establish tax courts and to bring into existence a tax case procedure;
Therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly, He is graciously pleased to enact the following Act:
Section1.This Act is called the Establishment of Tax Courts and Tax Case Procedure Act, 2528 BE.
Section2.This Act shall enter into operation from the day following the date of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.
Section3.In this Act—
“tax” refers to tax, duty, and royalty of every kind, and includes—
(1)tobacco stamps under the law on tobacco;
(2)fees for stamping of playing cards under the law on playing cards;
(3)special import fees under the law on promotion of investment;
(4)special fees under the law on importation into and exportation out of the Kingdom of goods;
(5)export fees under the law on Farmers’ Aid Fund;
(6)aid money which exporters are required to contribute under the law on Rubber Replanting Aid Fund;
(7)other fees or money designated by a royal decree to be taxes under this Act;
“tax court” refers to the Central Tax Court or a provincial tax court;
“tax case” refers to a civil case which is subject to the trial and adjudication power of a tax court.
Section4.The Minister of Justice shall be in charge of implementation of this Act.
Section5.A Central Tax Court shall be established in Bangkok Metropolis, and when it will be opened shall be announced by a royal decree.
The Central Tax Court shall have jurisdiction throughout Bangkok Metropolis, Samut Prakan Province, Samut Sakhon Province, Nakhon Pathom Province, Nonthaburi Province, and Pathum Thani Province. But all the cases taking place outside the jurisdiction of the Central Tax Court may be filed with the Central Tax Court, subject to the discretion of the Tax Court to refuse to try and adjudicate upon any of the cases filed in such manner, save where that case is transferred to it in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code.
Section6.If a provincial tax court is to be established in any province, this shall be effected by an act, which must also specify the jurisdiction of such court.
The jurisdiction of a provincial tax court may cover the administrative areas of several provinces.
Section7.A tax court has the power to try and adjudicate upon the following civil cases:
(1)appeals against rulings of officers or committees under a law related to tax;
(2)disputes related to the claims of the State over tax liabilities;
(3)disputes related to refunding of taxes;
(4)disputes related to rights or duties under the obligations created for the purpose of collection of taxes;
(5)cases provided by a law to be under the power of a tax court.
Section8.As regards a case under section 7(1), if a law related to tax provides that an objection or appeal against an order or ruling be lodged with an officer or committee in accordance with the criteria, procedure, and period of time designated, the case may be filed with a tax court only when the said criteria, procedure, and period of time have been observed and the objection or appeal has been ruled completely.
Section9.As regards a case under section 7(3), if a law related to tax provides that an application for refunding of taxes be made in accordance with the criteria, procedure, and period of time designated, proceedings may be carried out before a tax court only when the said criteria, procedure, and period of time have been observed.
Section10.Once a tax court is opened, no other court of first instance shall accept to try and adjudicate upon a case which is subject to the power of the tax court.
In the event that a question as to whether any case is subject to the power of a tax court or subject to the power of another court of first instance arises, whether before a tax court or other court of justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall give a ruling. The ruling of the President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be final.
Section11.All the parties to a case pending before a provincial tax court may mutually agree to request transferring the case to the Central Tax Court to be tried and adjudicated there. But such a request shall not be granted without prior consent of the Central Tax Court.
Section12.Tax courts shall be courts of justice of first instance according to the Constitution of the Courts of Justice and the provisions of the Constitution of the Courts of Justice shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section13.In the Central Tax Court, there shall be one Chief Judge of the Central Tax Court and there shall be Deputy Chief Judges of the Central Tax Court in the number designated by the Minister of Justice.
In each provincial tax court, there shall be one presiding judge of the provincial tax court.
Section14.The Chief Judge of the Central Tax Court, the Deputy Chief Judges of the Central Tax Court, the judges of the Central Tax Court, the presiding judges of the provincial tax courts, and the judges of the provincial tax courts shall be appointed by His Most Gracious Majesty from amongst the judicial public servants under the law on regulation of judicial public servants, who are of knowledge or proficiency in tax-related matters.
Section15.A sitting of a tax court for trial and adjudication of a tax case requires at least two judges forming a quorum for trial and adjudication.
Section16.A single judge of a tax court has the power to perform any acts or give any orders in conducting other proceedings than holding a sitting for trial and adjudication of a case.
Section17.The proceedings before a tax court shall be governed by the provisions of this Act and the ordinances under section 20. In absence of the said provisions and ordinances, the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section18.If a party wishes to appoint any person domiciled in the jurisdiction of a tax court as the recipient of pleadings or documents on his behalf, the party shall file an application with the court trying his case. After the application is granted by the court, pleadings or documents may be served upon the person so appointed.
If a party has no domicile or office in the jurisdiction of a tax court trying his case, the court may order the party to appoint a person domiciled in the jurisdiction of the court as the recipient of pleadings or documents on his behalf so as to allow pleadings or documents to be conveniently served within the time designated by the court.
If the party fails to follow the court order under paragraph 2, pleadings or documents may be served by means of posting them up at the court trying case and notifying the party to take them instead of any other means of service. Service of pleadings or documents by this means shall be valid upon expiry of seven days from the day of posting them up.
Service of pleadings or documents upon an appointed person shall be made by the same means as serving pleadings or documents upon a party or by other alternative means as provided in the Civil Procedure Code. Service of pleadings or documents upon an appointed person according to the dispositions of this paragraph shall be valid upon expiry of seven days from the day the service is made or fifteen days from the day an alternative means of service is resorted to.
Section19.A period of time designated by this Act or designated by a tax court can be reduced or extended by a tax court on the basis of necessity and in the interest of justice.
Section20.To enable convenient, expeditious, and fair proceedings, the Chief Judge of the Central Tax Court, with the approval of the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, has the power to issue for application in the tax courts any ordinances in relation to the conduct of proceedings and the admission of evidence.
Those ordinance shall enter into operation upon publication in the Royal Gazette.
Section21.A tax court or the Supreme Court of Justice may request a specialist or expert to appear and give opinions in support of the trial and adjudication of a case.
The dispositions of paragraph 1 do not exclude the right of a party to apply for summoning a specialist or expert from his side to appear and give opinions rebutting or supplementing the opinions of the specialist or expert mentioned in paragraph 1.
Section22.Once a tax court has notified any party of a trial appointment, if such party fails to appear before the tax court as appointed, it shall be his own duty to visit the tax court and learn about next appointments himself. If he fails to make such visit, he shall be deemed to have been informed of the next appointments.
Section23.The specialist or expert requested by a tax court or the Supreme Court of Justice to appear and give opinions shall be entitled to conduct money as well as reimbursement for travel and residential rental according to the regulations designated by the Ministry of Justice.
Section24.Subject to this Act or the Civil Procedure Code, the judgments or orders of a tax court can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice within a limit of one month from the day of their pronouncement.
Section25.As regards a case in which the value or amount in dispute is not over fifty thousand baht, no party can lodge an appeal on a question of fact, save where a judge participating in the tax court sittings for trying such case has expressed a dissenting opinion or certified that there are reasonable grounds for the appeal, or if there is no such dissenting opinion or certification, written permission from the Chief Judge of the Central Tax Court is required for the appeal.
Section26.Appeals and final appeals can be lodged against the following orders of a tax court in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code:
(1)an order imposing imprisonment, confinement, or a fine upon any person in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code;
(2)an order related to interlocutory measures or an ordered related to the execution of a judgment or order.
Section27.The President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall establish in the Supreme Court of Justice a tax case division for trial and adjudication of appealed tax cases of the tax courts.
Section28.In the event that the President of the Supreme Court of Justice finds it appropriate, he may have any question of law in any tax case ruled by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Section29.The provisions of this Act and of the Civil Procedure Code which deal with the trial and deciding of cases in the second and final instances shall apply mutatis mutandis to the trial and deciding of tax cases by the Supreme Court of Justice.
Section30.The cases which are subject to the trial and adjudication power of the tax courts and are pending before the Civil Court or other courts on the opening day of a tax case division of the Civil Court shall continue to be tried and adjudicated by those courts without being considered to be tax cases under this Act.
Section31.Whilst the Central Tax Court is not yet opened, a tax case division shall be established in the Civil Court with the same powers and jurisdiction as the Central Tax Court and shall be opened within two hundred and forty days from the day of entry into operation of this Act.
Upon opening of the tax case division of the Civil Court, sections 10 and 33 shall apply mutatus mutandis.
The Chief Judge of the Civil Court shall have the same powers and duties as the Chief Judge of the Central Tax Court.
Any ordinances issued by the Chief Judge of the Civil Court in accordance with section 20 shall remain in operation until replaced by new ordinances issued by the Chief Judge of the Central Tax Court.
Section32.Upon opening of the Central Tax Court, all the cases before the tax case division of the Civil Court shall be transferred to the Central Tax Court to be tried and adjudicated there, and the Central Tax Court shall also have the power to issue warrants of execution, warrants of arrest against judgment debtors, or give rulings in any matters related to the execution of judgments or orders in the cases so transferred.
Section33.Whilst a provincial tax court is not yet opened in any locality, the Central Tax Court shall also have jurisdiction over that locality. A plaintiff may file his case with the provincial court of the locality where the defendant is domiciled and the provincial court shall then notify the Central Tax Court thereof. Once the Central Tax Court has given an order accepting to try and adjudicate upon such case, the Central Tax Court may sit for trial and adjudication at the provincial court of that locality or may require the sittings for trial and adjudication to be held at the Central Tax Court, whichever the court finds appropriate.
The Central Tax Court may request the provincial court of the locality with which the plaintiff files his plaint or any other provincial court to carry out any proceedings other than the ruling of a dispute in the case. In this event, the provincial court shall apply the tax case procedure to the proceedings carried out before it.
Countersignature
General P Tinsulanonda
Prime Minister
Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: Tax cases are of special characteristics which distinguish them from ordinary civil cases. They are disputes between private persons and the State which result from tax assessment or collection, which, if specifically tried by judges with knowledge and understanding in tax problems, would be more expeditious. It is appropriate to establish tax courts for trying tax cases with a special procedure where certain processes and methods provided in the Civil Procedure Code are dispensed with in order to increase flexibility. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
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This work is in the public domain worldwide because it originated in Thailand and is a work under section 7(2) of Thailand's Copyright Act, 2537 BE (1994) (WIPO translation), which provides:
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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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