The Supreme Court of Thailand on Thursday cut the fine imposed on a local unit of the tobacco multinational Philip Morris for evading tax on imported cigarettes from 130 million baht to 20 million baht.
The case, first filed in 2017, centred on accusations that Philip Morris Thailand under-declared prices for cigarettes imported from Indonesia in 2002 and 2003.
A lower court handed down the original 130-million-baht penalty in 2020 to the local unit of the company, which owns the Marlboro and L and M brands.
The Court of Appeal in 2023 ordered that the fine be reduced, and asked the Customs Department to calculate a new fine rate. At that point, Philip Morris said it would appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Thursday found Philip Morris Thailand guilty of avoiding tax, but reduced its fine to about 20 million baht, according to a court official.
The court also reaffirmed decisions by lower courts to drop charges against a former Philip Morris employee.
Nhu Ngoc Diep, the head of the Thai operations of Philip Morris, said in a statement that the company disagreed with aspects of the decision and maintained it had ‘consistently complied with local and international law’.
‘We look forward to putting this matter behind us,’ she added.
The company previously faced legal action over allegations that it evaded hundreds of millions of dollars in import tax on cigarettes from the Philippines between 2003 and 2006.