BOI Thailand: Board of Investment

If you’re hoping to open a business in Thailand, acquiring promotion from BOI Thailand (Thailand Board of Investment) must be on your to-do list. The BOI provides incentives to businesses in targeted industries to stimulate Thailand’s growth and further their economic goals, and you can take advantage of this to provide your company with a competitive edge. This page will explain what the BOI is, how it can help you, and how you can apply for promotion.

What is the Board of Investment (BOI) Thailand?

The Office of the Board of Investment was established in 1966. It operates under the Office of the Prime Minister and is a government body that helps promote direct investment in Thailand by devising investment policies. By providing tax incentives and other favorable treatment, the BOI promotes businesses in sectors that the government wants to foster and expand to meet the nation’s overall economic goals.

For you as an entrepreneur, this means more competitive advantages, higher profitability, and better opportunities for success in Thailand’s economy.

Objectives of Thailand’s Board of Investment

These are the key roles that the BOI Thailand plays:

• Promotion of investment opportunities in Thailand and foreign countries
• Development and innovation of technology in Thailand
• Increasing the economic growth in Thailand

If your business is found to contribute to these goals, you can apply for BOI promotion in Thailand.

Benefits of BOI Promotion for a Company in Thailand

There are certain tax schemes and regulations that apply to limited companies in Thailand. However, if your company gets a BOI promotion certificate, then you can benefit from a variety of tax and non-tax incentives.

Thailand BOI Tax Incentives

Here are some of the tax privileges attached with a BOI promotion certificate in Thailand:

• Exemption from or reduction of import duties on machinery
• Reduction of import duties for raw or essential materials
• Exemption of import duties on materials imported for R&D purposes
• Exemption of corporate income tax on the net profit and dividends derived from the prompted activity
• Double deduction from the costs of transportation, electricity, and water supply

Thailand BOI Non-tax Incentives

There are also some non-tax-related privileges provided by a BOI promotion certificate in Thailand:

• Permission to recruit foreign skilled workers to work in investment-promoted activities 
• Permission to own land
• Permission to remit money abroad in a foreign currency

Is your company eligible for BOI promotion?

Your company is eligible for BOI promotion if it meets the following criteria:

• Your company falls within one of the four eligible business categories
• Your company performs eligible activities based on its category
• Your company meets the minimum capital investment requirement
• Your company is duly registered under Thai law
• Your company is able to satisfy the conditions set by the BOI and provide evidence of doing so

To get a BOI Thailand promotion certificate, you first need to make sure that the type of business you plan on executing falls within one of the business categories targeted by the BOI for growth. These categories are:

1. BCG Industries: Agricultural, food, biotechnology, and medical.
2. Advanced Manufacturing Industries: Machinery, automotive, aerospace, defense, and electronics.
3. Basis and Supporting Industries: Minerals, advanced materials, metals, and chemicals; public utilities and environmental; real estate development for industrial use.
4. Digital, Creative Industries, and High-Value Services: Digital, light, film, tourism, and logistics; smart city development; professional services.

If you aren’t certain whether your proposed business falls under these categories, speak to an experienced corporate lawyer to find out.

List of BOI-Eligible Activities

Once you have made sure that your company is doing business in any of the above-mentioned categories, the next thing that you need to check is whether or not your company will be performing the business activities required for BOI promotion. These activities vary by industry, and a full list can be found on the BOI website or from a knowledgeable consultant. 

If your business does not perform the appropriate business activities, then your company may not be approved even if it is in the appropriate industry.

For instance, if your company is doing business in the medical sector, then the following are eligible activities that your company must perform to acquire a BOI promotion certificate:

• Manufacture of medical products
• Medical and healthcare services
• Clinical research

If your company will be performing at least one of the eligible activities in your business category, then it can qualify for a BOI promotion certificate.

How to apply for BOI Promotion in Thailand

Applying for BOI investment promotion is a long and complex process, and failure to complete the application properly could exclude you from the BOI’s advantages permanently. That’s why you should connect with a Thai corporate law team to guide you through the process, such as the one at Siam Legal. 

Our experienced corporate team will walk you through each step of the process to streamline your application for BOI promotion and give you the best possible chances for approval. Here are the basic procedures of our services:

1. Feasibility Study

Before getting into the application process for BOI Thailand, there is a key step to take first: the feasibility study of your project. At this initial stage, we will study your business plan to gain insight into your project to determine if approval is likely and if you should proceed. At this stage, we will be able to identify any changes that need to be made to your BOI plan before you submit the final application.

2. Submit application

Once we have reviewed your BOI plan and strategy, and made the required changes to it, we will submit your application for investment promotion on your behalf. 

3. Project Presentation

After we submit your application, the BOI will contact you to schedule a presentation within 10 working days. This presentation is where you will make your case to the BOI as to why you should be granted the promotion. If you are worried about this stage, don’t be, we will attend the presentation with you to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible. 

4. Project Evaluation and Consideration

After the presentation, the BOI will evaluate and consider your project. The evaluation and consideration time depends on the size of your investment:

• Investment capital not exceeding 200 million baht is considered within 40 working days from the date your application is complete.
• Investment capital not exceeding 2 billion baht is considered within 60 working days from the date your application is complete.
• Investment capital exceeding 2 billion baht is considered within 90 days from the date your application is complete.

5. Notification of Consideration Results

After the BOI reaches its decision, they will notify you in writing whether your application is accepted within 7 working days.

6. Acceptance of Investment Promotion

If your application gets accepted and a promotion is offered, you will have 1 month from the date you receive the written notification to decide whether to accept it. 

7. Application for Promotion Certificate

If you accept the promotion, you will have 6 months from the date you accept the promotion to submit your application for a promotion certificate. Our team can also assist with this step, refer to the next section.

8. Promotion Certificate Issuance

If all the required documents are submitted, the BOI will issue you a promotion certificate within 10 working days.

Registration of a Company in Thailand While Applying for a BOI Investment Promotion Certificate

If you wish to receive the BOI investment promotion certification, then it is crucial for you to ensure your Thai company is fully set up within six months after your application gets approved by the Thailand BOI. During this time, you must submit the following documents to the Office of the Board of Investment in Thailand:

• Application form for BOI promotion certification
• Company registration certificate
• Memorandum of association
• List of shareholders
• Certification including the registered capital, names and addresses of the authorized directors along with the registered address of the company
• Investment certificate by the Bank of Thailand or receipts of transfer of funds from different countries
• Technology transfer agreement or contract
• Franchise agreement
• JV contract
• Form that includes all the human resource requirements

The registration form is mostly 8-10 pages long and must include the following information:

• The total sum of registered capital of your company and how you plan on using or investing that money.
• Details about your business plan and the machinery or software that you will be using throughout the execution of your project.
• The number of people you will be hiring from Thailand and foreign countries along with their salaries.
• The steps or strategies you will be using for training your Thai employees.
• All the relevant details such as the skills and qualifications of the management team of the company.
• The estimated revenue of your company for the first few years.

This is a lot of things to collect and prepare, but Siam Legal’s corporate law team has done this many times and can assist in making the process faster and smoother.

Deadline for Submission of Documents for a BOI Application in Thailand

It is crucial for you to submit all these documents within the deadline. However, if you are unable to submit all these documents to the Office of Board of Investment Thailand within the required time frame, then you must send an explanatory letter to the BOI Thailand, and they will extend your deadline to submit all these documents. You should keep in mind that this extension to submit the documents will grant a maximum of 4 months of extra time, and such an extension cannot be made more than three times. 

Once the Office of Board of Investment Thailand has received all these documents, then they will issue you the investment promotion certificate for your new company. From then on, it is mandatory for you to follow all the conditions mentioned in the certification related to your company.

Injection of Funds

The injection of investment funds needs to be done at least 30 days before the BOI promotion certificate is issued. If your company is foreign-owned, then you will have to declare this with evidence. The investment amount varies with the category of business you are carrying out, however, the minimum capital requirement for the injection of funds in Thailand is 1 million THB.

Application for BOI Work Permits and Visas

After your company gets the BOI promotion certificate, you still have a few more steps to take to fully leverage its benefits. Next, you must make sure to register the company into the e-Expert system before hiring foreign employees. Once the foreign applicants get approved by the e-Expert system, then they can make their applications for the work permit and their visa in Thailand through the BOI One Start One Stop Investment Center (OSOS).

This will enable your foreign employees to get work permits both faster and cheaper when compared to the standard work permit process.

Compliance Responsibilities and Reporting to the BOI

To maintain your incentives, your BOI-promoted company must meet the following requirements after receiving the BOI promotion certificate and report to the BOI once you have done so:

• Import the machinery and equipment within 30 months to benefit from reduced tax duties.
• Construction of the company’s headquarters or factory must be completed within 36 months and all the machinery and equipment must be installed.
• In case you need more time to complete these steps then you must inform the BOI about it in writing.

Accounting and Reporting Protocols for BOI Businesses in Thailand

Every BOI-registered company in Thailand must ensure to follow accounting and reporting protocols strictly. Officials from Thailand’s Revenue Department and BOI inspectors will regularly carry out strict monitoring to make sure that your company is following all regulations. These include the reporting of Social Security Fund (SSF) contributions, managing Withholding Tax (WHT), reporting of Value Added Tax (VAT) contributions, and yearly auditing.

Get in touch with our legal professionals!

Registering your company in Thailand to the Board of Investment provides an immediate leg up when you open your Thai business and benefits for years to come. It’s worth the time and effort, but success is not guaranteed. That’s why it is vital to contact Siam Legal’s corporate lawyer in Thailand to assist with this process and ensure you can acquire BOI promotion. 

Our team of legal experts will make sure that the entire process of registering your company in Thailand is smooth and easy so that you can focus on building your company confident in the knowledge that you have every possible advantage. Contact Siam Legal today!