To avoid double taxation, Thailand has concluded tax treaty agreements with certain countries. As of March 2021, the countries which currently have tax treaties with the Kingdom are as follows:

1. Armenia
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Bahrain
5. Bangladesh
6. Belarus
7. Belgium
8. Bulgaria
9. Canada
10. Cambodia
11. Chile
12. China P.R.
13. Cyprus
14. Czech Republic
15. Denmark
16. Estonia
17. Finland
18. France
19. Germany
20. Great Britain and Northern Ireland
21. Hong Kong
22. Hungary
23. India
24. Indonesia
25. Ireland
26. Israel
27. Italy
28. Japan
29. Korea
30. Kuwait
31. Laos
32. Luxembourg
33. Malaysia
34. Mauritius
35. Myanmar
36. Nepal
37. The Netherlands
38. New Zealand
39. Norway
40. Oman
41. Pakistan
42. Philippines
43. Poland
44. Romania
45. Russia
46. Seychelles
47. Singapore
48. Slovenia
49. South Africa
50. Spain
51. Sri Lanka
52. Sweden
53. Switzerland
54. Chinese Taipei
55. Tajikistan
56. Turkey
57. Ukraine
58. United Arab Emirates
59. United States of America
60. Uzbekistan
61. Vietnam

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Are foreigners allowed to bring branded cars into Thailand?

According to the Customs, foreigners are allowed to import cars to Thailand provided that applicable taxes are paid and proper clearances are obtained. For personal use, personal vehicles such as car, motorcycle, sports boat or yachts and fishing vessel, etc. can be imported into Thailand either temporarily or permanently.

In a temporary import of personal vehicles for a short visit into Thailand by owners, tax or duty allowance can be granted provided that they are to be re-exported within 1-2 months but not exceeding six months. Any persons intending to temporarily import personal vehicles have to closely observe the regulations and conditions of Customs.

For permanent import of vehicles, new vehicles of all types that are not yet registered abroad are allowed to be imported without applying for an import permit from the Ministry of Commerce. For used or secondhand vehicles, the importer needs to obtain an import permit from the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce before the arrival of the vehicles otherwise he/she will be liable to a fine equal to 10% of the price of vehicle but not less than Baht 1,000 or exceeding Baht 20,000. For new or used vehicles with the weight of less than 3500 kgs., the importer needs to obtain an import permit from the Industrial Standard Institute.

Know more about your tax obligations in Thailand. Contact MSNA for consultation.

Foreign companies carrying on business in Thailand, whether as a branch or an office must apply for tax identification number from the Revenue Department. An application form (Lor Por 10.3) together with other relevant documents such as a copy of the company’s registration license, house registration, etc., shall be submitted to the Area Revenue Office within 60 days from the date of registration or operation.

Moreover, all companies whether a Thai or foreign which carries on business in Thailand must submit the corporate income tax returns and payments twice a year:

1. The half year tax return must be submitted (Corporate Income Tax PND 51 form) within two months after the end of the first six months. The amount of tax due shall be half of the entire year projection of the company’s annual net profit.
2. The annual tax return (Corporate Income Tax PND 50 form) must be submitted within 150 days after the closing date of its accounting period.

Contact MSNA for further assistance in filing your half year corporate income tax return and annual corporate income tax return in Thailand.

There are certain categories of taxpayers and income which are exempt from Corporate Income Tax in Thailand as follows:

1. The categories of taxpayers which are exempt from Corporate Income Tax are as follows:

– Companies which were granted exemption from tax for a period of time by the Board of Investment under the Investment Promotion Act (1977);

– Foreign organizations under mutual agreements or diplomatic organizations.

– Specific foundations or organizations; and

1. The categories of income which are exempt from Corporate Income Tax are as follows:

– A special purpose vehicle (“SPV”) for securitization is granted the tax exemption on income derived from a securitization project approved by the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Nevertheless, the operation and allocation of cash inflow for the settlement of debts and expenses must follow the plan approved by the SEC. moreover, no dividends may be paid to the shareholders of an SPV until all remaining assets and benefits have been transferred by the SPV back to the originator of the securitization project and the SPV ceases to exist.

– Interest on foreign loans paid to financial institutions organized under a specific law and wholly-owned by a foreign government;

– Interest on government bonds paid to a foreign company not carrying on business in Thailand;

– Interest on foreign currency deposits received from a commercial bank used for lending to non-Thai nationals domiciled or residing abroad, foreign companies not carrying on business in Thailand and foreign banks including those with a branch or representative office in Thailand.

– Dividends received from foreign investments are exempt from tax provided that the Thai company receiving the dividends has held at least 25% of the shares with voting rights of the company paying the dividends for a period of not less than six months before the date on which the dividends were received and the dividends were derived from net profits in the foreign country taxed at a rate of not lower than 15%. In the event that a “special law” in a particular foreign country provides a reduced tax rate or exemption for the net profits, the limited company which receives the dividends is still eligible for the tax exemption;

– Dividends or share of profits paid by an unincorporated joint venture to a Thai company or foreign company carrying on business in Thailand;

– Dividends received from a Thai company by a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Dividends received by a non-listed company from another Thai company are also exempt from tax, provided that the company receiving the dividends holds at least 25% of the total shares with voting rights without any direct or indirect cross-shareholding. In other cases where one Thai company receives a dividend from another Thai company, one-half of the dividend is exempt from tax. However, in all cases, the listed or non-listed company receiving a dividend must have held the shares in the company paying the dividend for at least three months before and three months after the dividend was received. In the case of an amalgamation (merger) or entire business transfer (EBT), the new or surviving company can include the period of ownership of any predecessor company that was part of the amalgamation or EBT when counting the three-month period;

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At present, the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate is 23% for accounting periods beginning between 1 January and 31 December 2012. For accounting periods beginning between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2014, CIT rate is 20%.

The CIT rates for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are as follows:

i. For accounting periods beginning between 1 January and 31 December 2012:

Net profit (THB) CIT rate

0 – 150,000 -0-

150,000 – 1,000,000 15%

Over 1,000,000 23%

ii. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013:

Net profit (THB) CIT rate

0 – 150,000 -0-

150,000 – 1,000,000 15%

Over 1,000,000 20%

In order to be eligible for the reduced tax rates, the SMEs must meet the following conditions effective from the accounting period which begins on or after 1 January 2012:

(1) The paid-up capital on the last day of any accounting period must not exceed THB 5 million;

(2) The income from the sale of goods and provision of services must not exceed THB 30 million in any accounting period.

On the other hand, banks are subject to CIT at the rate of 10% in respect of profits derived from lending to non-Thai residents from foreign currency funds obtained from non-Thai sources.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and taxation questions.

Further to the duties of a taxpayer summarized in the previous article, today, Thai Tax Expert outlines the rights of a taxpayer in Thailand as follows:

Tax installment payment

For personal income tax, a taxpayer can pay any tax amount which exceeds 3,000 Baht in up to three installments without paying fines or surcharges.

A taxpayer can file a request for an installment payment of tax arrears. However, such payment must meet the requirements set by the Thai Revenue Department.

Application for exemption or reduction of fine and surcharge

A taxpayer has the duty to file his tax return and pay proper taxes on time. Should he fail to do so, he will be subject to fine and surcharge on top of the tax due. However, on some special grounds he may request for exemption or reduction of fine. A tax officer does not have the power under any law to exempt or reduce surcharge. Only in the case where the Director-General grants an extension of the time period of tax payment or remittance and such tax has been paid or remitted within the extended time period, then the surcharge may be reduced to 50% thereof.

Access to documents

A taxpayer has the right to make a copy of his documents relevant to his past tax payment record (tax returns and receipt).

Appeal in dispute of tax assessment

In the case where a taxpayer disagrees with the assessment made by the assessment officer, he has the right to appeal to the Commission of Appeals (in the form P.S.6) within 30 days starting from the day which an assessment notice has been received.

Should a taxpayer disagree with the ruling of the Commission of Appeals, he has the right to appeal within 30 days starting from the day the ruling of the Commission of Appeals has been received. Should he fail to appeal within 30 days, he no longer has the right to appeal and must pay the whole amount of tax, fine and surcharge.

Deferral of tax payment by using collateral for tax arrears

The right to appeal is not a deferral of tax payment.

A taxpayer who receives a tax assessment notice must pay tax on time as stated in the assessment notice. However, should he wish to wait for the hearing or decision of the Commission of Appeals, he has the right to defer tax payment by providing various securities as collateral in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Revenue Department.

Know more about the rights and duties of taxpayers in Thailand. Contact MSNA for Thai accounting and taxation services.

Today, Thai Tax Expert talks about the duties of a taxpayer in Thailand.

A taxpayer is an individual or entity that has the duty to pay taxes and is classified into two:

1. Resident – any individual residing in Thailand for a period or several periods in total of at least 180 days in a tax year (January 1 to December 31) who has a duty to pay tax on income remitted from a source in Thailand as well as on any income from a foreign source in connection with the taxpayers’ employment or business carried on overseas or a property situation overseas and that income is remitted into Thailand within the year that the taxpayer receives that income.
2. Non-resident– the one who is subject to tax only on income from sources in Thailand.

A taxpayer has the following duties:

• File tax returns and pay proper tax
• Register for tax identification number and must also notify the Revenue Department officers of any changes in his particular details
• Pay tax as assessed by the Revenue Department officers on time
• Provide relevant documents and accounts as the law requires. These include receipts, profit and loss statements, Balance sheets, special accounts, etc.
• Cooperate and assist the Revenue Department officers and provide additional documents or information when required as well as comply with the summon

If in any case a taxpayer fails to pay a complete amount of tax, the Revenue Department assessment officer has the right to seize, attach and sell that asset (source of income) by auction even without a court decision and the cash that will be raised from the transaction will be used to pay off tax arrears. Eventually, any taxpayer who does not comply with the law will face civil and criminal action.

Understand better the Thai taxation and know more about your duties as a taxpayer in Thailand. Contact English speaking accountants and Thai tax experts of MSNA for consultation.

In Thailand, certain activities are exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT). These include:

1. Small businesses whose annual turnover is less than 1.8 million Baht;
2. Sales and import of newspapers, magazines and textbooks;
3. Sales and import of unprocessed agricultural products and related goods such as fertilizers, animal feeds, pesticides, etc;
4. Certain basic services such as:

– Transportation services such as domestic and international transportation by way of land;

– Renting immovable properties;

– Educational services provided by the government and private schools and other recognized educational institutions;

– Professional services such as medical and auditing services, lawyer services in court, and other similar professional services that have laws regulation such professions;

– Healthcare services provided by the government and private hospitals and clinics;

5. Services in the nature of employment of labor, research and technical services and services of public entertainers;
6. Goods exempted from import duties under the Industrial Estate law imported into an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and under Chapter 4 of the Customs Tariff Act;
7. Imported goods that are kept under the supervision of the Customs Department which will be re-exported and be entitled to a refund for import duties;
8. Cultural services such as amateur sports, services of libraries, museums, zoos; and
9. Other services such as religious and charitable services and services of government agencies and local authorities.

Know more about Thai taxation and understand its complexity. Contact MSNA, English speaking accountants and tax experts in Bangkok.

The exporter who wants to become a Registered Exporter and receive certain privileges should submit the Registered Exporter Application Form (SorTor.1) along with the required documents to the following offices:

1. For a company under supervision of Bureau of Large Business Tax Administration can submit the application at Planning and Evaluation Division of the Bureau of Large Business Tax Administration.
2. Other companies can submit the application at Area Revenue Branch Office

2.1 For a VAT registered company located in the jurisdiction of Area Revenue Office within Bangkok area, the application must be submitted at Withholding Tax and Refunds Sub-division.

2.2 For a VAT registered company located in the jurisdiction of Area Revenue Office outside Bangkok area, the application must be submitted at Tax Processing and Refunds Sub-division.

Once the application documents are submitted, the following approval process will take place:

• The Bureau of Large Business Tax Administration or Area Revenue Office (depending on the case), will verify the credibility of the exporter who submitted the Registered Exporter Application Form.
• Then, the opinion will be sent to the Registered Exporter Classification Committee to review and send to the Director of Bureau of Large Business Tax Administration or the Director of Area Revenue Office for approval.
• The Bureau of Large Business Tax Administration or Area Revenue Office (depending on the case) will then notify the result to the exporter.

Interested in setting up an exporting company and become a Registered Exporter in Thailand? ThaiLawyers can help you for company registration, visa and work permit application. MSNA’s Thai Tax Advisors can help you coordinate with the Thai Revenue Department for Registered Exporter application.

The Thai Revenue Department has recently enhanced tax benefits for taxpayers who contribute to provident funds.

Previously, the employees’ income or benefits received upon the termination of their employment due to death, disability, or retirement was tax exempted. The new tax benefit eliminates the retirement requirement whereas if an employment is terminated before an employee turns 55 years old, his/her income or benefits received upon such termination is still exempted on the conditions that such income or benefits remain in the fund until the death or disability of the employee or the employee reaches 55 years of age.

The implementation of tax benefit aims to encourage long-term savings for the provident fund members. When the members have retired or left their job according to the law, any payment or benefits received upon such retirement or employment termination is tax exempted. This will improve the quality of life and promote the equality between members of provident funds and the government pension funds.

Need help on Thai taxes? Contact English speaking accountants and tax experts of MSNA.