BOI / FBL / Treaty of Amity Licensing

What BOI promotion changes for a foreign-owned business

Promotion by the Board of Investment under the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977) as amended is not a tax scheme with a licence attached. It is a package: rights to own land for the promoted activity, permission to bring in foreign specialists with streamlined visa and work-permit handling through the One Start One Stop Investment Center, remittance rights, and, for eligible activity categories, corporate income tax exemption for a defined number of years and a defined cap.

The most valuable element for many applicants is not the tax holiday at all. It is the ability to hold majority or full foreign shareholding in an activity that would otherwise sit on List 3 of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), because a BOI-promoted company obtains a Foreign Business Certificate rather than having to seek a Foreign Business Licence.

Promotion is activity-specific. The certificate names the promoted activity, the location, the capacity, and the conditions attached. Revenue from a non-promoted line is taxed normally and must be accounted for separately, which is why the accounting architecture has to be designed at application stage rather than retrofitted at the first audit.

Where applications are actually decided

Interviews are substantive. A BOI officer will ask why the machinery list matches the claimed capacity and how the Thai-national staffing ratio will be achieved. Applicants who send a consultant instead of someone who can answer operational questions lose credibility quickly.

• Activity eligibility: the application must map to a category in the BOI's activity list, with the technology or value-add element the category assumes actually present in the business plan.
• Minimum investment capital, generally at least one million baht excluding land and working capital for most categories, evidenced by a credible capital expenditure schedule.
• Project feasibility: three-year projections with sourcing, staffing, and market assumptions that a reviewer can test.
• Environmental and location conditions where the activity requires them.
• Debt-to-equity ratio within the limits BOI applies to new projects.

From approval to first tax-exempt baht

1. Application filed online: Submitted through the BOI e-Investment system with the project plan and financials.
2. Interview and board consideration: Officer interview within around ten working days of filing; committee decision timing scales with project size.
3. Acceptance of promotion: The applicant must accept the approval within the stated period, then incorporate or amend the company to match the promoted structure.
4. Promotion certificate issued: Issued after evidence of capital injection and compliance with the acceptance conditions.
5. Rights activated: Machinery import privileges, land rights, visa and work-permit channel, and the tax exemption clock starting from first revenue of the promoted activity.

Living with the conditions after year one

Promotion carries continuing obligations: annual reporting to BOI, maintaining the promoted activity's scope, keeping separate accounts for promoted and non-promoted revenue, and complying with the conditions printed on the certificate. Withdrawal of promotion is possible for non-compliance, and it can be retroactive as to tax benefits already taken.

Every corporate document supporting the application — parent company registration, board resolutions, audited financials from abroad — needs certified translation and, where executed overseas, notarisation and consular legalisation. Thailand's Apostille accession takes effect on 28 February 2027, so filings before that date follow the embassy chain.

Common mistakes and how we avoid them

More questions we are asked

Does BOI promotion remove the four-Thai-employees-per-work-permit ratio?

Promoted companies obtain foreign expert positions through the BOI channel rather than the general ratio, but the approved positions are specified and finite.

Can a promoted company own land?

Yes, for the promoted activity and subject to the conditions in the certificate, notwithstanding the general restrictions of the Land Code.

How long is the corporate income tax exemption?

It depends on the activity group, commonly three to eight years with a cap tied to investment value; some activity groups receive no exemption but keep the non-tax rights.

What happens if the project is delayed?

Extensions of the compliance milestones can be requested, but silence is treated as non-compliance and risks revocation.

Is BOI promotion compatible with a Treaty of Amity registration?

They are alternative routes to foreign majority ownership. Choose by activity, timing and cost; running both adds compliance burden without adding rights.