have a monopoly on duty-free sales.
(Photo courtesy of Airports of Thailand)
The Customs Department is considering whether to allow new
players to enter the duty-free market now monopolised by
King Power.
The department may permit new players to
operate duty-free
service at airports whose terms of reference for duty-free
business allow multiple operators to run the service such as
Phuket airport,
director-general Kulit Sombatsiri said.
He said the plan also depended on government
policy.
Offering licences for duty-free pickup
centres to other players
would create opportunities to compete with King Power,
but this could violate the contracts between Airports of
Thailand Plc (AoT) and the country's only duty-free
company.
The department must consider whether such
contracts allow
others to enter the business, Mr Kulit said. King Power is
the
sole concessionaire operating duty-free shops at
Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang
airports, both overseen
by AoT, and these contracts will expire in the next
four years.
With pickup centres at airports, tourists
can purchase goods
at duty-free shops in downtown areas and pick them up on
their departure.
Raising the number of pickup centres is part of the Customs
Department's plan to make Thailand a shopping paradise for
tourists in order to
support the country's tourism industry in
addition to its plan to trim import
duty on luxury items.
Executives of King Power were unavailable
for comment.
The
Customs Department will meet with related agencies today
to discuss its plan to
increase the number of pickup centres
for duty-free shops and cut import duty
on luxury goods, he said.
Former transport minister Prajin Juntong has
said the
Lotte Group, the South
Korean airport duty-free company, had
expressed an interest in Thailand's
duty-free market.
Mr
Kulit said the potential reduction in import duty on luxury
items needed to
take the impact on local operators into account.
He
gave an example that cutting import duty on leather goods
such as brand-name bags
would not affect local operators,
as such bags were produced abroad.
But in practice, the department must impose
a blanket tariff cut
on all types of leather goods since it cannot limit such
cuts to
high-end leather items, and this would hurt local manufacturers.
Thailand currently imposes a 30% import duty
on luxury goods.
Krisada Chinavicharana, director-general of the Fiscal Policy
Office, said his agency would propose cutting import duty on
certain luxury
products for a specific period such as peak or
off-season travel to cushion the
effect on local operators.
The planned import duty reduction follows
frequent requests
by the private sector to promote Thailand as a tourist retail
paradise while encouraging Thais to shop at home.
The government is stimulating
domestic consumption and tourist
spending in a bid to boost economic momentum
because public
and private investment will take longer to bear fruit.
In the meantime, Revenue Department director-general Prasong
In the meantime, Revenue Department director-general Prasong
Poontaneat said
his department would seek Finance Ministry
approval today to extend the tax
break for domestic tour
packages, hotel accommodation and tour guide service
fees
for two more years after it expired last month.
Business,Tourism,Transport,Bangkok Post, 20 January
2016.
In my opinion,to make decision whether to let other
company
such as the Lotte Group,the South
Korean airport duty-free
company enter to duty free market to make competitive
market not monopoly market depend on..
1.The goods price with King Power set is
reasonable and
competitive with other duty free or not.
2.The benefit with the revenue from duty
free share to the
government.
3.I think we should promote the business
company that
operate by Thai owner first if they can operate with
competitive market price.
Sincerely Yours.
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