Joint panel to tackle rehabilitation

Joint panel to tackle rehabilitation

The first JPPCC meeting is expected to take place next month

The government and the private sector have agreed to relaunch the Joint Public-Private Consultative Committee (JPPCC) as a central forum for the two to work together on solutions for the social and economic rehabilitation of the country after the pandemic.

The first JPPCC meeting is expected to take place next month, said Supant Mongkolsuthree, president of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

The FTI was the first organization to meet with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha after announcing on Wednesday that it allowed all parts of society to participate in finding solutions to the country’s ills.

Mr Supant also submitted the FTI’s economic recovery plan to General Prayut, urging the government to speed up aid to the auto industry, granting subsidized loans and technological aid to farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“The pressing issues we mentioned include a car trade-in program for vehicles at least 20 years old and promotions for electric vehicles to boost domestic car sales,” he said. “The automotive sector has also proposed to the government to implement Euro 5 emission standards for the manufacture of national cars in order to reduce PM2.5 emissions and dust.”

The FTI automobile club earlier offered three aid measures, including a 50% cut in excise duty until the end of this year, a car trade-in program in exchange for 100,000 baht paid by state and a delay in the application of Euro 5 emission standards after the coronavirus pandemic weighed on demand and purchasing power.

But the excise department at the end of last month rejected the 50% tax cut offered by automakers, fearing that the prices of all vehicles on the market would fall further if the cut were adopted.

Cutting taxes to boost domestic car sales is inappropriate because there could be a ripple effect on all cars, said Patchara Anuntasilpa, director general of the excise department.

The excise tax on cars contributes about 100 billion baht per year to the department. Assembled cars are not subject to excise duty until they leave assembly plants or free zones.

Thai auto production fell 40.2 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year to 534,428 units, according to the latest FTI report.

Car exports fell 35% year-on-year for the same period to 300,501 units during the period, with domestic car sales falling 38.2% for the period to 270,591 units.

Mr Supant said the FTI called on the government to accelerate the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector, pledging that FTI members would help farmers restructure their production to reduce costs and help farmers modernize technology. , especially for rice, rubber, tapioca and sugar cane.

The FTI proposed that the government encourage public and state agencies to use more locally produced products. He also called on the government to direct the Comptroller General’s Department to set key performance indicators requiring state agencies to list products made in Thailand on their procurement lists.