The Finance Ministry has set up a committee to probe the Customs Department's recent refund of excise duties worth 3 billion baht to Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines the territorial boundary as 12 nautical miles beyond the baseline, while the Supreme Court earlier ruled that the territory extends to the continental shelf. Veerasak Pungrasamee, director-general of the Department of Mineral Fuels, said the department provided its interpretation a week ago, under which Chevron would continue paying taxes on fuel that was used on the petroleum rig. Under Section 70 of the Petroleum Act 1971, the fuel that was used on the rig could no longer be waived although the area in which the rig stands was 12 nautical miles from onshore. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was aware of the issue.

Source: Bangkok Post November 12, 2016 00:33 UTC