THAI ACCOUNTANT answers a question regarding VAT tax point.

Question:

We are going to sign a contract with a Thai government agency and they asked us not to date the service quotation and the invoices that we will send to them until they tell us to. Can we do it that way? Will it affect our taxes?

Answer:

I think you can do it that way if it just only for services. However, you need to make sure your invoice is NOT a Tax Invoice. (When they are going to pay, then you will issue a tax invoice). This is because if you send your tax invoice to the client without a date, it is very risky and your company will be fined if the Revenue Department finds out. And you need to submit the VAT too far in advance even though you don’t need to yet. It affects the cash flow of the company.

The tax point of VAT for a service business is when we get paid not when we invoice the client. Normally, you need to issue a tax invoice when you get paid. However, if part of the business of the Thai company is to sell goods, the tax invoice of the sale transaction must be issued when delivering the goods or getting paid whichever comes first.

Contact MSNA for your accounting and tax questions.

Today, THAI ACCOUNTANT answers a question about VAT Refund for Exporters.

Question:

I would like to make sure that if we export goods and can work with a 0% VAT, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we cannot claim recoverable VAT right? I mean the VAT we pay when purchasing goods?

Answer:

When you export goods, whatever it is, you don’t have to pay VAT (because VAT on export is 0%) and you can claim back your purchase VAT. However, it may take months before the Thai Revenue Department refunds the purchase VAT to you (assuming that all the purchase VAT amounts that you have are refundable).

Contact MSNA for your Thailand tax and accounting questions.

Today, Thai Business Expert summarizes the steps on how we can set up an American owned company in Thailand taking advantage of the Treaty of Amity between USA and Thailand.

Step 1. We will set up a new company in Thailand for you, with all 3 American shareholders (or two Americans and one Thai) with a registered capital of THB 3 M. This is because the foreign business law dictates the minimum capital to be THB 3 M for a company with majority foreign shareholders. Please note that all 3 shareholders will have to be in Thailand at the time of signing the registration papers. Once the papers are signed, the company will be registered the next day, only if the registered address is in Bangkok.

Step 2. We will apply with the US Commercial Service for a letter certifying that the shareholders of the company are American and so the company is entitled to the right (per Thailand – USA Treaty of Amity) to operate the business in Thailand. This step usually takes 1-2 weeks for the US Commercial Service to issue the certification letter.

Step 3. We will submit all the papers to the Office of Foreign Business Committee, Ministry of Commerce, to get the Foreign Business Certificate. It usually takes 3-4 weeks for the certificate to be issued. Please not that the director who will be responsible for Thailand operation has to have a non-immigrant business visa to enter Thailand and we will need the copy of this visa.

Step 4. We will register the new company into the Thai tax system (including VAT). We need only one day to do this step.

Step 5. We will assist in getting a work permit for an authorized American director so that he can be authorized signatory for the bank accounts and he can sign any papers to bind the company. This takes 10 days to process.

IMPORTANT POINTS:

You can use your US company (if its majority shareholders and directors are American) to do business in Thailand without setting up a new company in Thailand and that means we can skip step 1 and save on the related professional fee and government fees. If you choose to go that route, we will need to draft an affidavit for your US Company and you will need to have the US Company’s documents and affidavit notarized before we can start step 2.

Also if you choose to register a new company (which means we need step 1), but want your US company to be the major shareholder, we will need to draft an affidavit for your US company and you will need to have the US company’s documents and affidavit notarized. Then we can continue on to step 2.

Contact MSNA for your business needs and questions on Treaty of Amity and Thailand company registration.