Researching and Developing Excise Stamp Formats

Abstract

The Excise Department is a government agency which has the duty to collect excise tax as a source of government revenue from certain products and services, for example, products which affect public health and safety, products whose consumption is domestically controlled by the government. Main taxable products are liquor, tobacco, and beverages. The tools for collecting excise tax are excise stamps for liquor and tobacco and tax payment marks for beverages. Each excise stamp and tax payment mark represents monetary value for the government revenue. However, since 1950, there has been no change in the excise stamps which have 189 different formats and track and trace technology have yet to be adopted. Track and trace has still be carried out mainly by men which has made Thailand’s management of excise stamps inaccurate, imperfect and slow. The examination and suppression of counterfeit and illicit products is insufficient. Therefore, there needs to be a study of such problems and the current use and management of excise stamps by comparing with successful foreign models in order to find best solutions to developing excise stamp formats which are up to date and technologically advanced and increases the effectiveness of tax collection. However, the study will also take into consideration the balance between the costs of stamp and increasing revenue and opinions of businesses and relevant government officials in order for the Excise Department to collect excise tax effectively and prevent missing revenue.