Thailand Customs Ends Executive Rewards From Seizures
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- Thailand's Customs Department is cancelling reward money for senior executives (C8/C9 level and above, including the director-general) from seizures of smuggled goods and tariff-violating imports, director-general Phantong Loykulnanta said, to prevent conflicts of interest.
- The Ministry of Finance has finished drafting amended regulations on executive rewards, which will take effect immediately upon publication in the Royal Gazette.
- The Customs Department plans to next revoke the century-old practice of paying rewards to all levels of customs officials, a system dating to 1926 that previously let payouts reach 30% of a shipment's value.
- The 2017 amended Customs Act allows officers and informants 10–20% of proceeds from seized-goods sales or fines, or up to 10% of additional collected duties, capped at 5 million baht per case.
- The reform aligns with recommendations from the government and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which warned the rewards could fuel corruption, and supports Thailand's bid to join the OECD.
- Phantong said the department is reclassifying reward eligibility into three tiers — officials who detect and seize, those who join a seizure, and those who assist an arrest — and is reviewing payout amounts to better reflect performance.
Why it matters: Thailand's customs bounty system, in place since 1926, has long been criticized for creating perverse incentives that slowed clearance and invited bribes from importers; banning payouts to senior decision-makers directly addresses the corruption concerns flagged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission and clears a governance hurdle on Thailand's path to OECD membership.
