Thailand appealed a WTO Panel Report finding that Thailand acted inconsistently with trade law by subjecting imported cigarettes to Value Added Tax (VAT) in excess of that applied to domestic cigarettes and in other ways treating imported cigarettes less favorably than like domestic cigarettes. The Appellate Body upheld all of the Panel's findings concerning Thailand's unequal treatment of imported versus domestic cigarettes and recommended that Thailand bring its policies into conformity with its international trade obligations.
Thailand v. Philippines, DS371, WTO Appellate Body Report (2011).
Governments may bring complaints before intergovernmental bodies on tobacco-related issues. For example, one country may complain that another country’s tax regime discriminates against its exported tobacco products. In some cases, a treaty may allow a private party to file a complaint against a government before an intergovernmental body.
A violation of the right to procedural fairness. For example, a party may claim that a government agency did not consult with public or stakeholders when issuing regulations.
A claim of an infringement of any international trade agreement, including General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), or bilateral treaties.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
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"Thus, Thailand argues, the Panel's finding was not based on the tax burden under Thai VAT law, but instead was based solely on the difference in the "administrative requirements" for resales of imported and domestic cigarettes, and the consequences of failure to comply with those requirements. We consider that Thailand's description of the measure analyzed by the Panel under Article III:2 as "administrative requirements" in respect of VAT is both under-inclusive and over-inclusive. The description is under-inclusive because it does not account for the complete exemption from VAT for resales of domestic cigarettes, and therefore disregards that VAT liability will, when certain conditions prescribed under Thai law are not met, be incurred by resellers of imported cigarettes, but never by resellers of domestic cigarettes. For this reason, Thailand's observation that the domestic producer and importer pay the same VAT amount is incomplete because it disregards that, under Thai law, subsequent resellers of imported cigarettes, but not subsequent resellers of domestic cigarettes, may also incur VAT liability. At the same time, Thailand's description is over-inclusive because the relevant measure for purposes of the Panel's consideration of the Philippines' Article III:2 claim does not include all of the administrative requirements evaluated by the Panel in respect of the Philippines' Article III:4 claim. As we have explained, the relevant measure analyzed by the Panel under Article III:2 consists of an exemption from VAT liability for resellers of domestic cigarettes, together with the imposition of VAT on resellers of imported cigarettes when they do not satisfy prescribed conditions for obtaining input tax credits necessary to achieve zero VAT liability."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
Thailand appealed a WTO Panel Report finding that Thailand acted inconsistently with trade law by subjecting imported cigarettes to Value Added Tax (VAT) in excess of that applied to domestic cigarettes and in other ways treating imported cigarettes less favorably than like domestic cigarettes. The Appellate Body upheld all of the Panel's findings concerning Thailand's unequal treatment of imported versus domestic cigarettes and recommended that Thailand bring its policies into conformity with its international trade obligations.