Value Added Tax (‘VAT’) in Thailand

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Tax, VAT, Revenue Department

3 August 2023

VAT paid (‘input VAT’) is offset against the VAT charged on sales (‘output VAT’). Should input VAT exceed output VAT then a refund can be claimed from the Revenue Department. This is either in cash or as a credit against future output VAT.

A tax payer that has only zero-rated income will have the option to reclaim the input VAT.

Registration process

Registration requires the submission of the VAT 01 form before commencing business or within 30 days after income exceeds the threshold of at least 1.8m Baht per annum.

Tax invoice

The invoice must, as a minimum, contain at least the following:

The words “tax invoice” in a prominent place;
The name, address and taxpayer identification number of the VAT registrant issuing the tax invoice;
The name and address of the purchaser of the goods or service;
Serial number of tax invoice;
Description, type, category, quantity and value of goods or services;
The amount of VAT calculated on the value of goods or services clearly separated from the value of goods or services;
The date of issuance;
Tax identification number of the purchaser of the goods or services;
The wording “Head Office” or “Branch No. …” which is the seller’s place of business from which such tax invoice, debit or credit note is issued; and
The wording “Head Office” or “Branch No. ….” which is the purchaser’s place of business to which such goods or services are sold or provided.

Invoices raised in currencies other than Thai Baht require the presentation of both currencies on the face of the invoice and must indicate the exchange rate used in the conversion. It is the amount in Thai Baht which is reported to the Revenue Department.

Provision of services

Generally, an invoice is issued to request for payment of the service and then a tax invoice is issued on receipt of payment, which is the tax point for VAT purposes.

Imports and exports

The export of both goods and services rendered in Thailand but wholly consumed overseas have a VAT rate of 0%.

When importing goods, VAT is due and payable to the Customs Department during the import process. From 1 March 2020, the import of goods to be used for treatment, prevention and research and development of Covid-19 are exempt from VAT.

When payments are made overseas for services provided, this would be regarded as an import of services and VAT would apply on a reverse charge basis. Accordingly, the recipient of the service would be required to make a voluntary payment to the Revenue Department along with the filing of VAT return form PP 36.

Rates

Some common VAT rates and exemptions:

	Type of services or goods	Tax rate (%)
1.	Sale of goods or provision of services or import of goods / services	7
2.	1. Exported goods 2. Services provided in Thailand but wholly consumed overseas 3. International transport services by aircraft or sea-going vessel 4. Sales of goods or services between bonded warehouses or between enterprises located in a duty free zone	0
3.	Tax payer with total annual sales of less than 1.8 million Baht	Exempt
4.	1. Educational services including government and private school 2. Audit services 3. Medical services 4. Health care services including government and private hospitals and clinics 5. Domestic transportation 6. Renting of immovable properties	Exempt
5.	Imported goods which qualify for exemptions (e.g. brought into a duty free zone).	Exempt

Submission to the Revenue Department

The VAT returns, known as a PP 36 and a PP 30, are submitted to the Revenue Department (‘RD’) on or before the 7th and 15th day respectively of the following month in which the payment was made and the tax invoice was raised. E.g. a tax invoice dated 25th July 2018 will be included on the VAT return submitted to the RD by the 15th August 2018.

The Revenue Department has announced that companies registered for e-filing have an extra eight days to file all tax returns. This incentive will run until 31 January 2024.

PP 36 to be filed on or before 15th of the month
PP 30 to be filed on or before 23rd of the month

Late submission

The fine for late submission is:

300 baht within the first 7 days
500 baht after 7 days

The penalty for late submission is up to twice the amount of tax due that month. There is also a surcharge of 1.5 percent of the tax payable per month.