The Revenue Department has been instructed to collect Bt546 million in unpaid tax and fines within 30 days from Bhanapot Damapong, brother-in-law of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the chairman of a tax-audit panel said yesterday.

"The department is obliged to follow its instructions immediately, and Bhanapot must pay his tax or risk the consequences," Viroj Laohaphan said, noting that the countdown for payment commenced yesterday.

Aside from meeting his tax obligations, Bhanapot, as well as Thaksin's wife Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, may face a criminal inquiry relating to the unpaid tax, Viroj said.

Should this happen, the two will be required to testify in person and will not be allowed to have lawyers give a statement on their behalf, he said.

Appointed by the Assets Examination Committee (AEC), Viroj has been charged with auditing tax liabilities incurred from the sale of Shin Corp by the Shinawatra and Damapong families.

The unpaid tax referred to above relates to a share transfer in November 1997.

According to the audit panel's report, Pojaman ordered her maid, Duangta Wongpakdee, to sell Bt738 million worth of Shin shares to Bhanapot. Duangta was a nominee.

Pojaman paid a Bt7.38-million fee to a stockbroker on Bhanapot's behalf.

The department initially ruled that the transaction was a family gift and exempt from tax.

However, the Viroj panel overruled this by pointing out that the transaction had taken place between Bhanapot and Duangta, who is not related to either family. It also stated that Bhanapot must pay income tax on money saved by having Pojaman pay his broker's fee.

The panel recommended the AEC launch another inquiry to determine whether Pojaman, Bhanapot and Duangta had committed any criminal offences through the transaction, which the panel said had been designed to evade tax.

If found guilty of tax evasion, the three could face a jail term of up to seven years and fines of up to Bt200,000.

In a related development, the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC) will decide by December 15 whether to indict suspects in the malfeasance case alleging that Revenue Department officers omitted tax for the Shin Corp share sale, the NCCC chairman said yesterday.

Panthep Klanarongran said NCCC member Somlak Jadkrabuanpol, who heads the fact-finding team, had said the team would be able to prepare its report on its investigation by Monday. The report will be sent to the NCCC.

The allegation related to the share transfer that Bhanapot received from Pojaman in November 1997. The NCCC had formerly scheduled to consider the case by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, another AEC-appointed panel yesterday visited Suvarnabhumi Airport to look for evidence of irregularities relating to the procurement of the CTX 9000 explosive-detection system.

Led by Amnuay Tantara, the panel found that, less than two months after the new airport was opened, one bomb-scanner had already broken.

Following the inspection, panel spokesman Totrakul Yomanak said its work might not be completed by December 4 as requested but would definitely be finished by the end of the year.

He said the panel was trying to identify how kickbacks would have been paid to officials who supervised construction of the airport.

Budsarakham Sinlapalavan,

Hassaya Chartmontri

The Nation