On June 17, at the Ministry of Finance, Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul addressed the issue of delayed payments and after-sales service problems involving Neta Auto (Thailand) Co., Ltd. He explained that after-sales services are a matter between the local Neta office and its parent company. Regarding unpaid subsidies to dealers in Thailand, this is a negotiation between the dealers and Neta.
The key concern involving the Excise Department relates to Neta's failure to meet the EV 3.0 policy requirement for compensatory EV production under the Thai government’s electric vehicle (EV) subsidy program. As a result, the Excise Department has already suspended the disbursement of the 150,000 baht-per-car subsidy.
Paopoom stated that the Excise Department had already disbursed over 2 billion baht in subsidies to Neta under the EV 3.0 scheme, but has now frozen a further 400 million baht. Neta was required to produce EVs at a ratio of 1:1.5 for every imported vehicle, totaling 19,000 cars, but has only managed to produce 4,000 units. Since this violates the program's conditions, the subsidy has been halted. If Neta ultimately fails to fulfill its production obligations, the company will have to repay all government subsidies.
He emphasized that existing Neta EV owners will not be asked to repay the subsidies or face additional charges, as the 150,000 baht subsidy and tax incentives were fully passed on to consumers as part of the EV price discount.
Additionally, the Excise Department has revised the subsidy conditions under EV 3.0 and EV 3.5 policies. All companies that have signed contracts must now submit production plans every two months, with a 10% flexibility allowance. Previously, the department could only audit production compliance after the policy period ended, which was deemed ineffective. This revised condition is currently under review and will soon be presented to the National EV Policy Committee (EV Board).