SIAM TRADE DEVELOPMENT
Import Alcohol in Thailand
We register and import Alcohol in Thailand: wine, liquors, distilled, and alcoholic beverages.
Import of Alcohol in Thailand is regulated by the Thai Excise Department. Labels must be registered before import.
Import and sale of alcoholic beverages in Thailand is regulated by the Liquor Act of 1950 and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act of 2008.
Spirit or liquor are material or mixture that contains alcohol and is consumable or becomes consumable after mixing with water or other liquids.
They are subdivided into two groups:
- Undistllled spirits – or mixtures of fermented spirits with distilled spirits (e.g. wines, champagnes, and low-degree liquors)
- Distilled spirits – or mixtures of distilled spirits with fermented spirits with alcohol volume more than 15 degrees (e.g. whiskey, brandy, rum, vodka, gin, etc.)
The Excise Department is responsible to collect the excise tax on alcohol, but not only: they are also the regulatory agency for alcohol import and distribution (in accordance with the Liquor Act B.E. 2493). The licensing system of the Excise Department obliges the importer to sell the alcoholic beverages in respect of Thai regulation.
Siam Trade Development offers Regulatory services to register labels for wine and liquors and can import the products for third parties through its partner Easy Wine in Bangkok. See also our page on Importer of Records.
Siam Trade Development services
Tax system for Alcohol Import in Thailand: Duties, excise, local taxes, VAT. How to calculate the cost
Alcohol Duties in Thailand
Duties applied to Alcohol import in Thailand depends on the Country of origin and the product. For examples, wine form Countries without a special agreement (France, Italy, USA) pays 54% duty, that is reduced to half if Origin is Australia, Chile, New Zealand etc. See below to have full picture of alcohol taxation method in Thailand
Excise on Wine and Spirits
Excise has a complicated way of calculation, that makes the system quite dangerous in case of mistakes. Basically, Excise is based on two factors: 1) selling price, that has a added tax if exceeding a given quota (ad-valorem tax); 2) based on alcoholic content and volume of the bottle. Click here to check the formula to calculate as example the Excise Tax for Wine in thailand
Additional tax and VAT
Alcoholic beverages are generally charged by additional tax that are globally the 17,5% of the total Excise calculated in the paragraph before. After this additional tax is applied, VAT must be calculated on the full value based on (CIF price + Duty + Excise + Additional Tax) x 7%.
Globally, Alcohol Import in Thailand is charged with around 300% taxes
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General Guidelines on taxation on Import Alcohol in Thailand
Duties are levied on imported Alcoholic Beverages before they are released from the Customs:
Import duties are imposed at a specific rate, based on price declared in purchase invoice.
Most of the imported alcoholic beverages are subject to import duties between 5 and 60%, but this percentage may be reduced or also eliminated under a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
For what concerns wine and beer of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 15% or, exceeding 15% but not exceeding 23% (fermented liquors):
| EXPORTING COUNTRY | AD VALOREM RATE (%) |
|---|---|
| Countries with no FTA | 60 |
| ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand | 20 |
| ASEAN – China Free Trade Agreement | Exempted |
| ASEAN – JAPAN | 32.7 |
| ASEAN – KOREA | Exempted |
| ATIGA | Exempted |
| FTA Thai – Australia | 12 |
| Exemption and Reduction of Customs Duty for the Goods Originating in Japan | 27.27 |
| FTA Thai – New Zealand | 9 |
| Thai – Peru | 24 |
Import tax on Wine in Thailand are 4:
- Duty
- Excise
- Local Taxes
- Value Added Tax
DUTY is calculated ad-valorem, based on the purchase invoice. Countries without FTA pay 54%, for Countries lilke New Zealand, Australia, Chile duties are reduced.
EXCISE is claculated in two different ways:
- Ad valorem tax, based on intended retail price in Thailand. If retail price is above 1.000 THB tax is 10% of the declared price. If 999 THB or below, tax is zero.
- Tax based on Alcohol content according to this formula: (Alcohol content x Content in litres x 1500 THB) / 100
Summarizing, one 0.75 litres bottle of wine with 14% alcohol content, sold in the shop at 1.400 THB, will pay: 0.75*14*1500/100 = 157.50 THB based on alcohol and 1400*10% = 140 THB. Total excise shall be 297.50
LOCAL TAXES are 5, calculated on the amount of Excise paid: 10% + 2% + 1.5% + 2% + 2%. In this case, our bottle paying 297.50 THB Excise Tax will be levied a further 52.06 THB, for a total of 349.56 THB.
VAT is 7% calculated on the CIF price + Duty + Excise + Local Taxes.
Globally import tax on wine in Thailand are 400% of the purchase price.
We remind you that labels must be approved before import. Siam Trade Development can license for you and take care of import procedure of your wine.
Summary
Article Name
How much are Import tax on Wine in Thailand?
Description
Import tax on Wine in Thailand are 4: Duty, Excise, Local Taxes, Value Added Tax. Some are based on value, other on alcohol content
Author
Diego Sala
Publisher Name
Siam Trade Development
Publisher Logo
Category:
Wine Import
Effective from December 8th, 2020, sale online of alcoholic beverages in Thailand is forbidden.
The amendment of two sections of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act signed by Thai Prime Minister defines that no one could sell or provide service to consumers related to alcoholic beverage sales “through electronic devices or in a manner of electronic communication.”
For more details you can read the full article HERE