Thai Excise Department Will Deploy Blockchain Tech to Boost Tax Collection

Thailand's Excise Department is hoping the integration of a blockchain system can help it boost revenue and assist the nation's economic recovery.

According to a report by the Bangkok Post on Monday, the department will implement a system to make tax receipt collection more efficient rather than raising taxes.

The Excise Department, which falls under the purview of the country's Ministry of Finance, is responsible for taxes on sales of certain goods and commodities manufactured or sold in the country.

Lavaron Sangsnit, the department's director-general, said raising existing taxes would risk hindering Thailand's economic recovery, so instead the department looked for different ways to meet the finance ministry's tax targets.

Blockchain technology will be employed for the purpose of tax revenue collection for the 2021 fiscal year, he said.

The nation's two other tax agencies, the Revenue Department and Customs Department, will also start rolling out blockchain systems in their operations, according to the report.

See also: Thai Central Bank’s New Blockchain-Enabled Bond Infrastructure Passes Test With $1.6B Bond Sale

Lavaron said tax evasion would be a lot harder with the blockchain integrations because the three departments will be able to coordinate when conducting tax audits.

Last year, the Excise Department began developing a blockchain-based system for assessing the tax returns of oil exports because of the large revenue generated by the industry. That system is expected to roll out in the first quarter of next year, according to the department chief.