Stamp duties are taxed on instruments and not on transactions or persons. For the purposes of stamp duty, an instrument is defined as any document chargeable with duty under the Revenue Code.

The instruments liable to stamp duty include the following:

– transfers of land,

– a lease,

– inter alia,

– power of attorney,

– promissory notes,

– letters of credit,

– travelers cheques,

– stock transfers,

– debentures,

– mortgages,

– life assurance policies,

– annuities

Who are liable to stamp duty?

  1. Only instruments listed in the stamp duty schedule are subject to the stamp duty and the persons liable to pay stamp duty are those listed in column 3 of the schedule. They are for example, the persons executing the instrument, the holders of the instrument or the beneficiary such as landlord, contractor, lender, insurer, etc.
  2. If an instrument liable to duty is executed outside of Thailand, the first holder of the instrument in Thailand shall pay the duty by stamping at the full amount and cancelling within 30 days from the date of receiving the instrument. If he does not comply as such, the instrument shall not be deemed duty stamped.

If he does not comply with the provisions of Paragraph 1, any holder of the instrument shall pay the duty by stamping at the full amount and cancelling and then he shall be able to submit the instrument for collection, endorsement, transfer or claiming of benefit.

Any holder who acquires possession of the instrument in accordance with this Section before the expiration of the time limit specified in Paragraph 1 may pay the duty by stamping at the full amount and cancelling and he has the right of recourse against the previous holders.

3. If a bill submitted for payment is not duty stamped, the recipient of the bill may pay the duty by stamping at the full amount and cancelling and may either have the right of recourse against the person liable to duty or deduct the amount of duty from the payment due.

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