Once promoted by the Thai Board of Investment, the company must follow the conditions as specified in the BOI promotion certificate in order to be granted with tax and non-tax incentives.

For non-tax incentives, the BOI can grant the following:

• Majority or 100% foreign ownership of the company (100% foreign shareholding)
• Right to own the land to operate the promoted business
• Visa and work permit to expat employees
• Exemption of import duty on machinery used for R&D and training services
• Permission for taking out or remitting money overseas in foreign currency
• Permission for foreign nationals to enter Thailand for the purpose of studying investment opportunities

For tax incentives, the Revenue Department provides the following as specified on the BOI promotion certificate:

• Exemption of corporate income tax on the net profit and dividends derived from the promoted activity
• Reduction of personal income tax for expat employees
• Exemption or reduction of import duties on machinery
• Exemption of import duties on materials imported for R&D purposes
• Reduction of import duties for raw or essential materials
• Exemption of import duty on raw or essential materials imported for use in production for export

We at MSNA together with our BOI expert team can guide you to fully understand the BOI incentives that can be granted to your promoted project. We can also assist you in complying with the BOI conditions as specified in your BOI promotion certificate.

If you will be doing consulting business, you may be eligible for Thailand BOI promotion under the activity “Trade and Investment Support Offices (TISO)”. The scope of activity covers advisory services on business operations except those engaged in buying and selling securities, foreign currency exchange, accounting, legal, advertising, and architectural and civil engineering businesses.

The main condition for this activity is that the company’s annual selling and administrative expenses must be at least 10 million Baht. Note that the direct costs of your services, for example, the salaries of the consultants who provide the company’s services to clients, are not part of the selling and administrative expenses. Your Thai accountant who knows how to fill out a corporate income tax return should be able to tell what expenses are considered to be in this group. MSNA group, which is a local Thai accounting firm with years of experience in helping foreign businesses obtain a BOI certificate, may be a great help in this area.

Although you cannot get tax exemption under this activity, you can still be granted with non-tax incentives which are as follows:

• more visa and work permits for foreign employees to work in your BOI promoted company
• privilege to own land to be used for operating the BOI promoted activity
• can be allowed to take out or remit money abroad in foreign currency

Contact MSNA group for getting BOI promotion, company registration, visa and work permits.

Foreign companies who wish to engage in the business involving selling machinery, tools and equipment in Thailand may have found 100% foreign ownership solutions. Thailand offers BOI promotion for the business of wholesale of machinery. 

Under the category of Trade and Investment Support Office (TISO), the Board of Investment may grant the promotion for business activities related to machinery, tools and equipment including:

• Importing for wholesale
• Training services
• Installation, maintenance and repair
• Calibration

However, this is only applicable if the foreigners have their group companies overseas producing their own machinery, tools and equipment. Importing for wholesale can be allowed if the machinery, tools and equipment belong to the parent company or group companies and the BOI promoted company will wholesale the products to distributors in Thailand, who will then sell them to factories throughout Thailand. Thus, retailing or selling products from other sources are not allowed.

Moreover, once promoted by the BOI, the company has 3 years to comply with the BOI condition for TISO which is to have annual selling and administrative expenses of at least 10 million Baht. Although there is no exemption of corporate income tax and import duties on machinery for TISO, the company shall be granted the following non-tax incentives:

• 100% foreign ownership
• Permit to own land (to be used for operating the promoted business)
• Permit to hire foreign experts and skilled workers to work in the promoted business
• Permit to take out or remit money abroad in foreign currency

When applying for BOI promotion, it is important to hire experts in preparing the application and dealing with the Board of Investment officials. Consult with MSNA Group for your plan of  Thailand BOI company registration.

Investment promotion by Thailand BOI for Senior/dependent care centers includes many incentives. To receive the promotion, the business must meet the following conditions:

1. The facility must be a senior/dependent care center according to the health business establishments Act.

2. The care center must have no less than 50 beds for services.

3. The care center must provide the senior/dependent persons with care and support by allowing them to stay overnight and offering rehabilitation activities.

4. Thai national shareholders must have at least 51% of registered capital.

5. The care center must receive a license to operate a health business establishment prior to applying for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) exemption.

6. Revenue eligible for CIT exemption must come exclusively from accommodation and senior care services, i.e. activities and food services, etc.

Once promoted by the BOI, Senior/dependent care centers shall be granted with the following incentives:

   – Corporate Income Tax exemption for 3 Years.

   – Exemption of import duties on machinery.

   – Exemption of import duties on raw materials used in R&D.

   – Exemption of import duties on raw materials used in production for export.

   – Permit to own land

   – Permit to bring into the Kingdom skilled workers and experts to work in investment promoted activities

   – Permit for foreign nationals to enter the Kingdom for the purpose of studying investment opportunities

   – Permit to take out or remit money abroad in foreign currency

When applying for the BOI promotion, it is important to have an expert’s help, not only in doing the BOI application, but also in coordinating with the BOI officers. Consult with ThaiLawyers to know more about the procedures in getting BOI promotion for your eligible business activity in Thailand.

Some of our clients, companies from Indore, India, got BOI to operate as 100% foreign ownership companies, with MSNA Group’s assistance. One got the BOI promotion for software activity for the software development business. Another one got the Board of Investment approval to operate in Thailand with 100% foreign ownership in the Trade and Investment Support Office category for their telecommunication engineering business. Hear what our clients say about working with MSNA Group:

“We are entities based in Indore, India, in the businesses of Software, Digital translation and Telecom Network Infrastructure.  We have been using Thai Lawyers Ltd./MSNA Group to set up our Thailand BOI companies since 2017. It is always a wonderful experience with the many services offered by MSNA Group. – Mr. Manmohan Saxena, Financial Controller, Diaspark Infotech Private Limited

We thank you so much for your business. Our team enjoy working with you too. We strive to have our clients’ most satisfaction.

Foreigners looking to have 100% foreign ownership in their business in Thailand, please contact ThaiLawyers or MSNA Group. We have solutions for you. Whether you are in the service business, IT, manufacturing, engineering, etc., you may be able to get a BOI company, which will allow 100% foreign ownership and many work permits.

Accounting for BOI companies with various sources of incomes

Most people misunderstand and assume that with the BOI status, they can receive incomes from many different sources. We want to explain here that having a BOI promoted company does not always mean you can always do any businesses and earn incomes from different sources. But in case you can (explain down here), you want to read further about accounting for BOI companies with various sources of incomes.

Thailand Foreign Business Law allows foreigners to do certain business activities. For most business activities, if you do not want to have a Thai majority partner, you need to get a permission to operate the business. One way for foreigners to own their business 100% is to get a BOI promotion whose main purpose is to promote investment in the businesses that truly benefit Thailand. The companies with BOI promotion can operate only the business activities that the BOI approved on the BOI certificates.

Now assuming that your company’s major shareholders are Thai, you may still want to get the BOI promotion for the tax benefits; corporate income tax exemption, machinery import duties reduction, etc. The benefits granted by the BOI are only for the business activities approved by the BOI. However, as a Thai company, you will be able to do other business activities too. This is when you have to be careful in your bookkeeping. In doing accounting for BOI companies with various sources of incomes, you need to separate the incomes and expenses into BOI business and non-BOI business. For the expenses that are paid for the whole company (benefiting both BOI and non-BOI businesses), you will have to allocate them using the most reasonable method. If 40% of the office space is used for the BOI business and 60% is for the non-BOI business, then you will allocate rents accordingly. If specific employees only work for your BOI business, then their salaries will be allocated to the BOI business while the other employees’ salaries will go to non-BOI business.

Contact us today to find out if your business is eligible for BOI promotion or if you need help with accounting.

Providing Motion Picture Support Services in Thailand

Foreigners who want to do the business of providing support services to motion picture business in Thailand can apply for BOI promotion under activity ”7.21 – Motion picture support services” to get distinct benefits and be able to have 100% foreign owned company in Thailand.

What support services can get a BOI certificate

Here is the short overview of conditions you have to comply with in order to get a BOI certificate:

“Motion picture support services shall include documentaries, television programs, animation and commercials, which have a scope of business, as follows:

• Rental services of movie production equipment and/or movie production props must have main equipment machinery, such as camera, grip equipment, light set, etc.
• Film development and duplication services must have main equipment/ machinery, such as film development machine, film duplication machine, digital film duplication machine, etc.
• Sound recording services must have main equipment/machinery, such as digital sound recorder, digital sound editing machine, digital sound mixing machine, etc.
• Picture technical services must have machines and equipment capable of creating special pictures that are not possible with cameras. The service providers must have main equipment and machinery, such as standard definition/high definition digital recorders, editing suites, digital compositing and special effect creation, etc.
• Coordination services for foreign movie production in Thailand must include coordinating with related government agencies for permits, location scouting and sourcing of staff and movie equipment. “

What to do to get the BOI Certificate

On the BOI website, you can download an application form. There are a lot of numbers and details that you will have to spend a lot of time and energy on trying to understand them and making them the way the BOI want to see and will approve your project. We suggest you get expert help from Thai Lawyers Ltd. so you can focus on getting clients and opening up new markets and making lots of money quickly.

Register a company

While waiting for the approval for Thailand BOI, company registration process can be started.

You can take a look at fully explained process of company registration here.

What else

Once you registered a company and got your BOI certificate you can start to conduct your business activity. However, you still need to apply for a Foreign Business Certificate to comply with Thailand Foreign Business Law.

Contact us today for consultation and read a similar article on how to set up a film production company in Thailand.

Manufacturing plastic products from recycled plastic

Thailand is strengthening its role as a leading global hub of plastics manufacturer, with makers placing greater emphasis on value-added and environment-friendly products. The Thai plastics industry is growing consistently, and demand in the vigorous domestic economy is the key driver.

To promote sustainable growth in the plastics industry together with protection of the environment, the BOI classifies projects in the manufacture of eco-friendly plastics as priority activities of special importance to the country. Therefore, these are given maximum investment incentives.

The only condition that a business needs to follow in order to become a manufacturer for plastic products from the recycled plastics is that it must have plastic forming process using domestic plastic raw materials only.

The incentives that can be given to this project are those under A4 category which includes:

• 3 years of corporate tax exemption
• Exemption of import duties on machinery
• Exemption of import duties on raw materials used in the production for exports
• 100% foreign business ownership
• Permit to own land
• Permit to bring skilled workers and expert to work into the Kingdom.

If you are planning to register your business in Thailand, please do not hesitate to contact MSNA for more information. We are experienced in BOI application, setting up a company, getting Foreign Business Certificate, visa and work permit application.

Thailand Investment Promotion for Software Park Business

As the digital way of life has now been touching all corners of the Thai society, the software industry is a very crucial driver for the country’s technological, social and economic development. With a very competitive market, Thailand is a very attractive software investment location for its skilled and affordable workforce, with programmers with a strong suit. If you are planning to invest in a Software Park business in Thailand, then the conditions and incentives below might help you.

Conditions:

• Project must have high-speed fibre-optic main communication system throughout the area.
• The main telecommunication system must have a high-speed cable from the software park to domestic and international telecommunication centre.
• Continuous back-up of electricity supply must be installed.
• The total area must not be less than 5,000 square meters.

Incentives to set up a software park in Thailand promoted by the board of investment are:

• An 8 year exemption from corporate income tax
• Exemption of import duties of machinery such as computers and software
• Exemption of import duties on raw materials used in production for export
• 100% foreign ownership
• Permit to own the land
• Permit to bring skilled workers and experts to work in Thailand.

For further queries, please feel free to read the Thailand BOI information and contact MSNA to help you with your BOI company registration.

Audit for BOI promoted companies

Companies in Thailand need to file their audited financial statements within 1 month after their Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders. An AGM must be held by 4 months after the accounting year-end to approve the financial statements. BOI promoted companies need the statutory audit every year like their non-BOI counterparts.

Moreover, the BOI companies that are granted a corporate income tax exemption right can exercise that right in the year that they have profits only after they have complied with the conditions specific to their promoted projects. In filing for the BOI’s approval to exercise such right, they need a Thai CPA to audit their BOI operation to make sure that they have complied with the all conditions set out by the BOI. This auditor can be a different person from the one that performs the statutory audit for the company.

Filing the statutory audited financial statements must be done for every accounting year even when the company was just set up and the whole fiscal period has not completed 1 year. Fiscal year-end depends on the company’s policy. But once chosen, it cannot be changed without the approval of the Director General of the Revenue Department.

Audit for BOI companies has difference procedures than non-BOI companies. Contact MSNA Group for audit services.