THE Revenue Department admitted yesterday it was unlikely to collect taxes from the family of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra regarding their controversial sale of Shin Corp shares in 2006.

This is due to the fact that the five-year tax summons limit will expire at the end of this month, the agency said.

The admission came although the Revenue Department has been under considerable pressure from the Office of the Auditor General.

Auditor-General Pisit Leelavach-iropas has threatened to take legal action against the head of the Revenue Department over this case involving tax disputes with the former prime minister’s family.

Pisit said yesterday that the Revenue Department should collect taxes from Thaksin’s family on the sale of their shares in the Shin Corp family business.

“If tax authorities do not do their duties, other parties or we may have to take legal action against them,” he said.

The period during which a tax summons must be issued is due to expire on March 31. Pisit said taxation officials need to proceed to collect tax from the Shinawatra family.

In January 2006, Ample Rich Investment, a firm owned by Thaksin, sold 11 per cent of Shin Corp to his children Panthongtae and Pinthongta a few days before Shin Corp was taken over by Singapore government-owned Temasek Holdings in a deal worth Bt73 billion.

Critics of the controversial deal raised questions on whether the sale was liable to tax, as Thaksin’s children benefited from capital gains. Tax authorities did not collect taxes from Thaksin’s family.

But the Criminal Court later jailed a number of officials involved for |failing to collect tax from Thaksin’s family.

The Finance Ministry’s deputy permanent secretary Prapas Kong-Ied, who yesterday chaired the Tax Commission meeting, said the tax summons deadline could not be extended, as requested by the Auditor General’s Office.

The Revenue Department is empowered to issue a summons for additional tax within five years after tax payment forms have been submitted.

According to the Revenue Code, tax authorities must issue a demand for tax within five years to call a taxpayer for interrogation after he or she files a false tax return or incomplete tax filing, he said.

“The commission’s ruling is final. However, should any party such as the Auditor General’s Office not agree, it could take the case to the Central Tax Court,” Prapas said.

In 2012, the Central Tax Court ruled that Panthongtae and Pinthongta should not be taxed because the true owner of the shares was Thaksin and his children were only acting as nominees. The court said any tax claims would have to be made against the actual owner of the shares.

Later that year, the Revenue Department announced it would not appeal the Tax Court’s decision.

Last year, the Criminal Court sentenced a former deputy finance minister and former tax officials to three years’ jail for helping Panthongtae and Pinthongta to evade about Bt16 billion in personal income tax.

The two were charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commis-sion for not paying capital gains tax after buying 329.2 million of shares each worth one baht in 2006 when the market price was Bt49.25 a share.

The Auditor General has been asking the Revenue Department to collect tax from the sale of Shin Corp shares in 2006. But the Department has argued that transactions in the stock market between Thaksin and Temasek were exempt from tax.

It also said it could not collect taxes arising from share deals between Thaksin and his children as no actual transaction occurred.