Bounchom Ubonpaseuth addresses the National Assembly on Dec 6. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): Action has been taken against the owners of 22,230 vehicles that were imported and used illegally in Laos, with tens of thousands of unlawfully imported vehicles discovered, the government has told the National Assembly (NA).
Fines amounting to as much as 361 billion kip have been collected from rule-breakers and added to the state budget, Minister of Finance Bounchom Ubonpaseuth told the ongoing 4th ordinary session of the NA’s 9th legislature.
Authorities are stepping up action to tackle the problem under Executive Order No. 20 to regulate the illegal import of vehicles and ensure they are used for the intended purpose.
In addition, authorities are ramping up action to address the illegal import of other goods.
This year, as many as 1,907 instances of illegal importation were discovered and the people involved were arrested. Of these, 1,859 cases have been processed and fines of 79 billion kip collected.
The minister said finance officials are expediting the modernisation of revenue collection in order to plug loopholes in the system and prevent the loss of money owed to the state.
This is being done through the use of an electronic tariff-declaration system in relation to the import of general consumer and essential goods such as construction materials and electrical appliances.
“We have piloted [this system] and as a result the amount of money lost and cases of conspiracy between state officials and business operators have declined,” Bounchom told the biannual session of the National Assembly, which continues until Dec 30.
“We will strive for the issue to be largely addressed,” he added.
Previous reports indicate that Laos has suffered considerable losses caused by illegal imports, including petrol.
Every year, a huge amount of petrol is smuggled into Laos, with state officials and importers conspiring in the illegal practice.
Around 700 million litres of fuel are smuggled into Laos on average each year, Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh told the National Assembly in June.
Statistics provided by authorities in Thailand and Vietnam, from where Laos sources fuel, show that about 1,900 million litres enter Laos each year but only 1,200 litres are reported to the government by Lao authorities.
In light of this issue, the government instructed authorities in charge to intensify action to prevent further loss of revenue.
Along with the introduction of the electronic system, the government is tightening up on the number of companies in charge of tariff declaration. This has resulted in a drop from 1,372 companies previously to just 93 companies at present.
“This has enabled us to take a big step forward in preventing the loss of revenue on imported goods, including petrol,” Bounchom said.
