Truckers hit by fee

Truck drivers entering Cambodia from Aranyaprathet have been caught off guard after Cambodian customs officers began demanding a refundable cash levy on their vehicles.
About 150 trucks were stopped yesterday at the Poi Pet checkpoint after the customs authority changed its foreign-vehicle screening regulations.
Officers at the checkpoint said drivers must now show truck ownership documents and pay US$5,000 (170,000 baht) before they could take their vehicles into Cambodia, said Capt Charn Wongwaimethee, the border police commander in Aranyaprathet district.
Cambodia imposed the regulation yesterday morning and truck drivers who had not been informed were forced to park their trucks in front of the border checkpoint on the Thai side, Capt Charn said.
Management of Thai and Cambodian transport companies were called in and, after negotiations with the Cambodian authority, the officers agreed to a compromise.
Shortly after noon, they allowed the trucks to deliver their goods, but said they would begin enforcing the regulation without exception from today.
He quoted Maj Leem Tek, of the Office of Cambodian-Thai Border Coordination in Poi Pet, as saying the rules were introduced as a reprisal measure. Thai customs officers closely examine Cambodian vehicle documents whenever they cross into Thailand, he said.