The General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) reported that in a period of 10 months, it had collected more than $70 million unpaid tax on vehicles.

GDCE director-general Kun Nhim said at a July 7 press conference that the tax collection campaign had achieved good results thanks to the support of the country’s armed forces.

Nhim said that as of June 30 – the deadline for allowing existing unpaid tax vehicle owners to fulfil their obligations – GDCE had collected $76 million, noting that a total of 9,753 vehicles were registered under various licence plates, including 7,040 right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles.

“[RHD] vehicle owners paid more than $41 million in taxes, while the 2,713 left-hand drive owners paid nearly $ 35 million,” he said.

He said that from January to the end of June, authorities discovered 342 vehicles whose owners had not paid their taxes. There were also challenges from some powerful people, he said.

“The support of the National Gendarmerie was important to the success of the operation. Many owners of luxury cars disrespected our officials when we explained the law. But Prime Minister Hun Sen has already suggested that we send the name of any official who owns a vehicle with unpaid tax to him, which helped us a lot,” Nhim said.

Pech Pisey, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, said the campaign was a good way for Cambodia to secure revenue to meet its annual expenses.

Pisey is of the view that another important thing that the government should pay more attention to is the transparency and equality of fulfilling tax duties between citizens and civil servants.

He considered the tax collection campaign as necessary to ensure honest competition in domestic car sales, as well-known car brands began to invest in Cambodia.