BOI Incentives
Frequently Asked Questions
What incentives and benefits does BOI offer?
BOI incentives are divided into two categories: tax incentives and non-tax incentives.
Tax incentives include:
- 100% corporate income tax exemption for 3–13 years
- 50% corporate income tax reduction for up to 5 years
- Dividend tax exemption
- Import duty exemption on machinery
- Import duty exemption on raw materials used for export production
- Double deduction of transportation, electricity, and water costs, plus additional deductions for infrastructure construction in certain cases
Non-tax incentives include:
- Foreign majority or 100% ownership
- Permission for foreign experts to enter Thailand for investment feasibility studies
- Special visa and work permit privileges for foreign employees
- Land ownership rights for eligible foreign-owned companies
- Permission to remit foreign currency into and out of Thailand
For more details, please read our article: BOI Thailand Incentives: A Complete Guide
Can foreign companies apply for BOI promotion?
Yes. Foreign investors are eligible to apply for BOI promotion, and most promoted activities allow foreign ownership of up to 100%.
Can foreign investors own 100% of a BOI-promoted company?
Yes. Most BOI-promoted activities permit 100% foreign ownership. Any ownership restrictions are specifically stated in the conditions of the relevant promoted activity.
Can a foreign national serve as a director of a BOI-promoted company?
Yes. A BOI-promoted company may appoint foreign nationals as directors.
Does a BOI-promoted foreign company still need a Foreign Business License (FBL)?
No. Foreign companies granted BOI promotion are not required to obtain a Foreign Business License (FBL). However, after receiving the BOI Promotion Certificate, they must apply for a Foreign Business Certificate (FBC) if they engage in service businesses or activities listed under Lists 2 or 3 of the Foreign Business Act.
Does BOI make it easier for foreign employees to obtain visas and work permits?
Yes. BOI provides streamlined visa and work permit services for investors, executives, experts, and foreign employees through dedicated BOI channels.
Can any foreign employee obtain a BOI visa and work permit?
Foreign employees working in BOI-promoted projects may qualify if they meet the applicable requirements, such as minimum age, relevant work experience, and salary criteria.
Can foreign investors own land in Thailand under BOI promotion?
Yes. Eligible foreign-owned BOI-promoted companies may own land for conducting their promoted business activities in Thailand.
Do Thai and foreign companies receive the same BOI incentives?
Yes. BOI incentives are based on the promoted activity, not the nationality of the company. Companies operating the same promoted activity generally receive the same incentives and benefits.
What tax incentives does BOI provide?
- Corporate income tax exemption for 3–13 years
- 50% corporate income tax reduction for up to 5 years
- Dividend tax exemption
- Import duty exemption on machinery
- Import duty exemption on raw materials used for export production
How many years of corporate income tax exemption does BOI provide?
Depending on the promoted activity, BOI may grant a corporate income tax exemption for 3 to 13 years.
The incentive may be either:
- Unlimited, with no cap on the amount of income exempted; or
- Capped, where the exemption is limited based on the project’s eligible investment value.
What is the corporate income tax exemption cap?
The exemption cap is the maximum amount of corporate income tax that can be exempted under the project. It is generally calculated based on the investment value of machinery, equipment, and building construction.
Projects receiving an unlimited exemption are not subject to any cap.
How does BOI determine which incentives a project receives?
BOI grants incentives based on the promoted business activity.
Promoted activities are generally divided into:
- Group A, which receives corporate income tax exemption benefits; and
- Group B, which does not receive corporate income tax exemption benefits.
BOI also offers special promotion measures for specific investments such as automation systems, renewable energy projects, software and digital technologies adoption.
Can a corporate income tax exemption be extended after it expires?
No. Existing corporate income tax exemption privileges cannot be extended.
However, if the company undertakes a new investment—such as a new production line, machinery investment, automation project, or software project—it may apply for BOI promotion for the new project and receive a new set of incentives.
Does BOI provide a dividend tax exemption?
Yes. BOI-promoted projects that receive corporate income tax exemption are generally also eligible for dividend tax exemption during the incentive period.
Does a BOI-promoted company pay no taxes at all?
Not necessarily.
If the company’s income is generated solely from a BOI-promoted project that enjoys corporate income tax exemption, no corporate income tax will be payable on that income.
However, income generated from non-promoted activities or other business units remains subject to normal taxation.
How does BOI help with machinery investments?
BOI provides import duty exemption on machinery imported for use in promoted projects, helping reduce the cost of imported equipment.
How does BOI help with raw materials?
BOI provides import duty exemption on raw materials used to manufacture products for export. Raw materials used for products sold domestically are generally not eligible for this incentive.
Does BOI provide VAT exemption?
BOI does not generally exempt VAT. However, VAT relief may apply to imported machinery and raw materials that qualify for BOI import duty exemption privileges.
