Section 154 — Dishonest tax or fee collection by an official
English translation
Whoever, being an official having, or holding himself out as having, the duty to levy or examine taxes, fees or any other money, dishonestly levies or refrains from levying such tax, fee or money, or does or omits to do any act so that a person liable to pay the tax or fee is relieved from paying it or pays less than what is due, shall be punished with imprisonment from five to twenty years or imprisonment for life, and a fine from one hundred thousand to four hundred thousand baht.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 154 is the revenue-corruption offence, aimed at officials handling taxes, fees or other public money. Its elements are (1) being an official who has, or holds himself out as having, the duty to levy or examine tax, fees or money, and (2) dishonestly, either (a) levying or not levying it, or (b) doing or omitting an act so that a liable person pays nothing or less than due. The provision reaches both over-collection for personal gain and dishonest under-collection or waiver that deprives the State of revenue. It carries the heavy five-to-twenty-year or life range typical of the property-based corruption offences in this Chapter, and is distinct from the valuation offence in Section 155 and the account-audit offence in Section 156, which target narrower stages of the same revenue process.
Why this matters in practice
This is a serious offence, five years to life, non-compoundable and handled through the anti-corruption process. Because it carries a life-imprisonment ceiling, the applicable limitation period is the longest tier, so old revenue matters can still be pursued. A recurring issue in the case law is that where several offences are charged on the same facts, limitation must be assessed offence by offence, not by the most serious count, so a lighter linked count such as Section 157 may lapse while this heavier count remains live. Officials in revenue roles and taxpayers approached to underpay both face exposure.
Frequently asked questions
Does Section 154 cover under-collecting tax as well as over-collecting?
Yes. It reaches dishonest over-collection for gain and dishonest waiver or under-collection that lets a taxpayer pay nothing or less than due.
If linked counts are time-barred, is Section 154 also barred?
Not necessarily. Limitation is assessed for each offence separately, so a lighter linked count may lapse while this heavier count remains live.