The Revenue Department and Comptroller-General’s Department of Thailand in a few weeks will launch a pilot project using blockchain technology. Thailand’s Finance minister Uttama Savanayana announced that this project would aim to reduce frauds related to Value added tax and refunds.
Three tax collecting departments, the Revenue Department, the Customs Department, and the Excise Department would use the blockchain technology to connect and increase working and inspecting efficiency, Bangkok post reported.
Finance Minister said that blockchain technology would be a boon for the finance department as it would enable them to share information across departments safely and securely. The customs department of Thailand has emerged as the second department in ASEAN to use the blockchain technology for tracking shipments after Singapore.
Customs Department of Thailand will adopt TradeLens, the logistics platform, which is supported by IBM and Maersk. Authorities informed that with this technology Customs officials would receive notification about shipment data as soon as the containers leave the port of origin. Chuchai Udompote, the principal adviser on the development of the Customs Incentive System, said that the agency has worked with IBM on TradeLens since last October.
Udompote also added that TradeLens would create greater transparency and customer satisfaction and will also provide economic stability by facilitating ease of doing business.
