Nikkei Asia reported that:
Thailand Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that the local unit of Toyota Motor Corp. owed the government 10 billion baht ($272.11 million) in extra taxes for importing components not subject to a reduced tariff.
Nikki Asia reported that “Toyota’s Thailand unit in a written statement said it was paying the lower tax rate for imported Prius parts based on JTEPA [Japan Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement], but it respected the ruling and would comply.” A similar report appears in the Bangkok Post.
These reports appeared against the back drop of a U.S. investigation of Toyota for “possible bribery” that was reported in the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, the Bangkok Post and other news outlets.