Revenue Department-Economic Crime Suppression Division arrests network that creates “fake tax invoices” causing over 1 billion baht in damages

The Revenue Department, in collaboration with the Technology Crime Suppression Division, arrested a network that issued and used fake tax invoices, causing damages of over 1 billion baht. The department warns that issuing and using fake tax invoices without actual trading is illegal and punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 7 years and a fine from 2 to 2 baht.

On June 30, 2568, Mr. Pinsai Suraswadi, Director-General of the Revenue Department, revealed that on June 24, 2568, the Revenue Department, in collaboration with the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECSD), raided 14 locations related to the issuance and use of illegally issued tax invoices, resulting in damages exceeding 1,000 billion baht.

The search team seized tax invoices that were issued without legal authorization and arrested the offenders at the search location for the offense of “jointly intending to issue tax invoices without the right to issue them,” which is an offense under Section 90/4 (3) of the Revenue Code.

For the behavior, it follows from the investigation of the Revenue Department, which found that the group of offenders issued tax invoices between related business operators to generate sales and purchases without actually conducting any business, and established a legal entity for export business and requested a refund of VAT from tax invoices issued without actually purchasing goods between them. The Revenue Department, together with the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), held a press conference on such cooperation on June 30, 2568 at the Economic Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Pol. Lt. Col. Natthasak Chawanasai, deputy commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, revealed that this operation was an integration of the forces of police officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division 2 and Revenue Department officers, totaling more than 127 officers, to launch the Anti Tax Fraud Operation to arrest the network group that was involved in committing the crime.

They proceeded to search and arrest suspects according to 10 arrest warrants from the Criminal Court (8 warrants in Mae Sot District, Tak Province / 2 warrants in Chiang Mai Province) and searched to find evidence related to another 14 search warrants (11 points in Mae Sot District, Tak Province / 2 points in Chiang Mai Province / 1 point in Bangkok). Officers searched all 14 points at the same time.

“From further investigation by the police officers of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, it was found that the group of offenders were related in the form of relatives, friends, employers and employees. They divided up the tasks in a gang-like manner to create an image that they were actually operating a business. From the search of all 14 locations, many tax invoices and documents related to the offence were found. Such actions are a destruction of the VAT system and cause great damage to the state.”

In this case, those who issue and use tax invoices without actually buying and selling goods between each other are subject to civil liability and criminal penalties. In the case of issuing tax invoices without the right to issue them under Section 86/13 of the Revenue Code, it is a criminal offense under Section 90/4 (3) of the Revenue Code. In the case of using tax invoices that are illegally issued for tax credits, it is a criminal offense under Section 90/4 (7) of the Revenue Code, punishable by imprisonment from three months to seven years and a fine from two thousand baht to two hundred thousand baht.

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