Revenue Department director-general Sanit Rangnoi said yesterday he sent the children of ousted prime minister Thaksin a demand notice on Monday.

The notice requires payment of personal-income tax on the revenue from the share sale within 15 days of receipt of the demand.

Sanit declined to reveal the size of the demand. A source said the amount was "around Bt6.5 billion".

Panthongtae and Pinthongta must also report to the department within seven days of receiving the demand.

Sanit said if they failed to show up the department would issue another summons. In the event of a second failure to appear the department would commence calculating fines on the unpaid taxes. Fines are 1.5 per cent of the total demand every month.

However, if the siblings contest the sum they can appeal. Nevertheless, they will have to place the sum demanded with the department as a surety.

If their appeal is successful the department will return the surety.

The brother and sister purchased Shin Corp shares from a British Virgin Islands-registered company called Ample Rich for Bt1 each. They later sold these shares to Temasek Holdings of Singapore for Bt49.25 each.

The source added the demand was calculated using Article 40 (2) of the Revenue Code. It requires the payment of tax on revenue assessed as income from discounts received by virtue of a person's position in a company.

The department used the article after the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) complained that earlier efforts to secure tax from the two were too slow.

It originally used Article 40 (8), which demands tax on income incurred from "any other businesses". The department admits that article contains loopholes.

Meanwhile, Worapoj Yossathat, managing director of Patriot Business Consultants, a contractor in the Suvarnabhumi Airport bomb-scanner purchase, will hear AEC charges against him.

He said he would deny the existing charges and any additional ones to be read on May 24.

"I am worried the AEC misunderstands and thinks I cheated the country. I do not want to be pressed under such charges. I have been threatened not to reveal the truth. I live in fear," he said.

In March 2004, ITO Joint Venture was awarded a Bt4.3-billion contract to install an airport baggage-handling system.

Redesigned to meet higher security standards following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, the system was the first in the world to have in-line explosive-detection screening.

Twenty-six CTX machines made by InVision Technologies were purchased.

Without an office in Thailand, InVision appointed Patriot as its local distributor.

In a related case, a lawyer retained by Thaksin, Weerapat Srichaiya, has opposed the appointment of an AEC investigation committee into the two- and three-digit lottery.

Wichit Chaitrong,

 Budsarakham  Sinlapalavan

The Nation