The delay in personal income tax refunds this year is partly related to stricter document verification, as more fake documents were submitted to claim refunds, according to the Revenue Department. Vinit Visessuvanapoom, deputy director-general and principal advisor on tax base management at the department, said this year the department has been meticulously examining tax refund documents because of an increase in fraudulent submissions, particularly fake income certificates (50 Tawi). These submissions made the department more cautious, he said.
However, Mr. Vinit said the problem is expected to ease next year as the department asked companies to submit 50 Tawi income certificates online. Although this is a request rather than a mandatory measure, companies that fail to submit the information online will need to provide reasons to the department, he said.
Tax Refunds and Filing Statistics
There were 11.9 million personal income tax forms filed for the income year 2023, submitted between Jan 1 and April 29, 2024, an increase of 3.34% from the same period last year. Of the total tax filings, 4.25 million were requests for tax refunds, an increase of 7.65% from the previous year. Refunds have been issued for 3.39 million filings, a 6.77% increase from the previous year, amounting to a total of 33.2 billion baht, up 7.57% year-on-year.
Revenue Collection Performance
In fiscal 2023, which ended on Sept 30, 2023, the Revenue Department collected a total of 2.21 trillion baht in taxes, exceeding the target by 9% and surpassing the previous year’s figure by 2.1%. In terms of major tax categories:
- Corporate income tax revenue amounted to 767 billion baht, 13.8% above the target and 5.3% higher than the previous year.
- Value-added tax revenue totalled 913 billion baht, 5.1% above the target, but 1.8% lower than the previous year.
- Personal income tax revenue tallied 395 billion baht, 10.9% above the target and 7.5% higher than the previous year.
- Petroleum income tax revenue was 48.7 billion baht, 25.1% above the target, but 22.4% lower than the previous year.
The meticulous approach to document verification and addressing fraudulent submissions has been a critical factor in ensuring the integrity of the tax refund process. As companies adapt to submitting income certificates online, it is anticipated that both efficiency and accuracy in processing personal income tax refunds will improve in the coming years.
