BOI Thailand 2026 offers significant investment incentives for multinational corporations expanding into Southeast Asia. Our licensed Thai lawyers at Lex Bangkok guide you through the entire BOI investment promotion process—from eligibility analysis to post-promotion compliance.
Serving global enterprises since 2017
Thai Bar-registered counsel
Full preparation, document drafting, and submission of BOI promotion applications to the One Start One Stop Centre.
Mapping your business operations against BOI-eligible activities under the 2023–2027 investment promotion strategy.
Structuring corporate income tax exemptions, import duty waivers, and zone-based incentives to maximize returns.
Ongoing reporting, operating condition monitoring, and annual compliance filings to maintain your BOI privileges.
BOI Thailand 2026 refers to the investment promotion framework administered by Thailand’s Board of Investment — the government agency responsible for encouraging both foreign and domestic investment in targeted industries. For multinational companies entering or expanding in Thailand, securing a BOI promotion certificate is one of the most strategic decisions available, offering substantial tax incentives, permission to own land, and streamlined work permit processes for foreign staff.
At Lex Bangkok, our licensed Thai lawyers specialize in guiding MNC clients through the full BOI investment promotion lifecycle. Unlike firms that treat BOI as a side service within company registration, we recognize that BOI promotion demands dedicated expertise — from initial eligibility assessment through years of post-promotion compliance reporting.
These benefits are not automatic. Securing them requires a carefully prepared application that demonstrates your project meets BOI criteria for eligible activities, investment thresholds, technology transfer, and regional development priorities. The application process involves detailed project feasibility documentation, financial projections, organizational charts, and technical specifications — all of which must satisfy BOI officers during their review.
The BOI classifies promoted activities across eight broad categories, including agriculture and food processing, mining and ceramics, light and heavy industries, metal products and machinery, electronics and electrical appliances, chemicals and plastics, services and public utilities, and technology and innovation development. Within each category, specific sub-activities receive different incentive tiers (A1 through B2) based on their strategic importance to Thailand’s economic development goals.
Activities that align with the BCG (Bio-Circular-Green) economy model, advanced technology, and digital transformation receive the most favorable incentive packages under the current framework. Our legal team stays current with every BOI announcement and policy update to ensure your application targets the optimal activity classification.
A structured approach that maximizes your approval chances.
Investment promotion in Thailand rests on one statute. The Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 creates the Board of Investment, sets out which activities may be promoted, lists the rights a promotion certificate confers, and fixes what happens when a promoted company breaches its conditions. Later amendment Acts, B.E. 2534, B.E. 2544 and B.E. 2560, revised parts of it.
Section 6 constitutes the Board itself. The Prime Minister chairs it, the Minister of Industry is Vice Chairman, and not more than ten other appointed members sit alongside the Secretary General. Section 13 places the Office of the Board of Investment under the Secretary General and gives it the duties of appraising applications, supervising promoted projects and evaluating them afterwards.
Two consequences follow for a foreign investor. First, promotion is a discretionary grant by a Board, not an entitlement that arrives on meeting a checklist. Second, the same Office that approves a project also supervises it under section 13(4), so the file a company opens at application stays open for the life of the certificate.
Section 16 sets the eligibility gate. Activities eligible for promotion are those important and beneficial to economic and social development and to the security of the country, activities producing for export, activities with high capital, labour or service content, and activities using agricultural produce or natural resources as raw materials.
Section 16 paragraph two then requires the Board to announce the types and sizes of activity that are eligible, and lets it attach conditions to each and amend or abolish them at any time. That announced list, not the Act, is what an applicant checks first. Paragraph three lets the Board cancel promotion for an activity temporarily or permanently where it decides the activity no longer needs promoting.
Section 18 governs the merits. The Board may grant promotion only to a project that is economically and technologically sound, and it must consider the existing number of producers and production capacity in Thailand against demand estimates, the prospects for market expansion, the proportion of domestic resources used, the foreign currency earned or saved, and the suitability of the production process. Section 19 adds an environmental limb: the project must incorporate appropriate measures for preventing and controlling harm to environmental quality.
Section 17 fixes who may hold the certificate. A promoted person must be a company, a foundation or a co-operative established under the relevant law. An application may be filed before the company exists, in accordance with rules the Secretary General prescribes.
The Act sets out the steps and the periods that follow a decision. The review period before that decision is set by the Board's own published procedure and scales with the size of the investment, so a large project is considered at a higher level and over a longer period than a small one.
| Stage | What happens | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | Application filed with the Office in the form the Secretary General prescribes (s.17) | — |
| Consideration | Reviewed at a level set by the investment value under the Board's published procedure: a working group for projects up to THB 200 million, a sub-committee above that up to THB 2 billion, and a sub-committee then the Board above THB 2 billion | 40, 60 and 90 working days respectively, from a complete application |
| Notification | The Office notifies the applicant in writing of the Board's resolution together with the conditions stipulated (s.21) | Within 15 days of the resolution |
| Acceptance | The applicant confirms acceptance of promotion in writing (s.21 paragraph two) | Within 1 month of receiving the notice; the Secretary General may extend up to three times, one month each |
| Commencement report | The applicant reports commencement of the project to the Office (s.22) | Within 6 months of confirming acceptance; extendable up to three times, four months each |
| Certificate | The Secretary General issues the promotion certificate once satisfied the applicant can proceed (s.22 paragraph three) | Without delay |
Section 23 completes the picture. The certificate takes the form the Board prescribes and the Secretary General signs it. Any later amendment needs a Board resolution, and the Secretary General signs and delivers the amended certificate. So a change to a promoted project is a Board matter, not an administrative one.
The rights sit in Chapter 3 of the Act and divide into tax and non-tax limbs. Not every promoted project receives every right, because sections 29 and 32 let the Board reduce or withhold the machinery and corporate income tax benefits where it considers the full grant inappropriate.
| Section | Right |
|---|---|
| 24 | Permission for foreign nationals to enter Thailand to study investment opportunities, for the period the Board thinks fit |
| 25 | Permission to bring in foreign skilled workers and experts, with spouses and dependants, in numbers and for periods the Board thinks fit, even beyond immigration quotas |
| 26 | Work permits for those skilled workers and experts, for a position approved by the Board, for the period of permitted stay |
| 27 | Permission to own land to carry on the promoted activity, to the extent the Board deems appropriate, even beyond the limits other laws impose |
| 28 | Exemption from import duty on machinery approved by the Board, where comparable machinery is not produced in Thailand in sufficient quantity |
| 29 | A half reduction of import duty on machinery, or no exemption at all, where the Board considers a full section 28 exemption inappropriate |
| 30 | Reduction of import duty of up to ninety per cent on raw or essential materials for the promoted activity, granted for periods of not more than one year at a time |
| 31 | Exemption from juristic person income tax on net profit from the promoted activity for not more than eight years, with carry-forward of losses for up to five years after the exemption ends |
| 33 | Exemption from taxable income of fees for goodwill, copyright or other rights under a Board-approved contract, for five years from first income |
| 34 | Exemption of dividends from the promoted activity from taxable income throughout the corporate income tax exemption period |
| 35 | Zone-based benefits where the Board has gazetted an investment promotion zone, including a fifty per cent corporate income tax reduction for up to five further years and double deduction of transport, electricity and water costs |
| 36 | Export-related benefits, including exemption of import duty on materials used to produce goods for export and exemption of export duty |
| 37 | Permission to remit investment capital, dividends, approved foreign loan principal and interest, and approved contractual payments abroad in foreign currency |
The land right in section 27 is the one that most often decides where a manufacturing project can physically go. It is a separate application in its own right, and the Board has narrowed it twice since late 2024. Our guide to BOI land ownership in Thailand sets out the current area caps, the capital condition and the activities now excluded.
Chapter 5 of the Act contains protections that have no equivalent for an unpromoted company. They are statutory commitments by the State, and for a board approving a long-lived capital commitment in Thailand they carry real weight.
Section 43 provides that the State shall not nationalise the activity of a promoted person. Section 44 provides that the State shall not undertake a new activity in competition with the promoted person. Section 45 bars a State monopoly on the sale of products of the same or a similar kind. Section 46 prevents price control on the products of the promoted activity except where necessary for economic and social development or national security, and even then the controlled price may not fall below what the Board considers appropriate. Section 47 guarantees permission to export, subject to the same narrow exception.
Sections 49 and 50 go further and allow protective measures. Where the Board considers it necessary to protect the promoted activity, it may impose special import fees of up to fifty per cent of the price of competing imports, announced in the Government Gazette for periods of not more than one year. Where special fees are inadequate, section 50 allows the Ministry of Commerce to ban the import of competing goods.
Sections 51 to 53 create an escalation route. A promoted person facing an obstacle in carrying on the promoted activity may complain to the Board, and the Chairman may order government agencies, government organisations or state enterprises to assist. An agency that cannot comply must report its reasons to the Chairman within fifteen days, and the Chairman's subsequent decision is final.
Section 20 lets the Board stipulate conditions in the promotion certificate across twenty listed areas. These are the obligations that survive approval, and they are the ones a compliance programme has to track.
| Area | What section 20 allows the Board to fix |
|---|---|
| Capital | The amount and source of capital |
| Shareholding | The nationality and number of shareholders |
| Scale | The size of the activity, the products or services, the process and the capacity |
| Inputs | The amount of local raw materials to be used |
| People | The nationality and number of workers, technicians and experts, and the training and employment of manpower |
| Environment | Prevention and control of damage to environmental quality |
| Timing | Periods to commence implementation, order machinery, import machinery, re-export machinery, and the date of commencement of operation |
| Reporting | Reports on implementation and operation, and on training delivered by foreign technicians to Thai personnel |
| Standards | That products conform to standards set by the Board or another government agency |
| Distribution | Distribution of the products and export requirements |
| Security | A deposit of cash, bank guarantee or Thai government securities with the Office to secure compliance |
Section 40 adds a separate and often overlooked restriction. For a period the Board fixes at between five and fifteen years, the promoted person may not use duty-exempt machinery for anything other than the promoted activity, and may not move the factory or place of operation away from the locality named in the certificate. Section 41 lets the Board permit a mortgage, sale, transfer, lease or relocation, either in writing or by amending the certificate.
Chapter 6 sets out what happens on breach, and the numbers are retrospective rather than prospective. Section 54 lets the Board withdraw the rights and benefits in whole or in part where the promoted person violates or fails to comply with the stipulated conditions, and fix how long the withdrawal lasts. Where the Board treats the failure as unintentional, paragraph two allows the Office to serve a written warning requiring remedy within a prescribed period first.
Section 55 treats a total withdrawal as if the exemption or reduction had never been granted. Duty is recomputed on the condition and price of the items and the rate in force on the date of import or export. The promoted person must apply to the Customs Department within one month of being informed of the order, and pay within one month of being informed of the amount. A surcharge of one per cent per month, not compounded, runs for up to three months, and beyond that the law on customs treats the import as an evasion of duty.
Section 55/1 deals with juristic person income tax separately. The Board may make the withdrawal retroactive to the financial year in which the breach occurred, and the Revenue Code then applies to the tax that had been exempted. Dividends paid out of the promoted activity before the date of the withdrawal order are not affected.
Section 56 gives a promotion certificate a life of not more than three months from the date of dissolution, merger or transfer. An operator taking over the activity must apply for promotion within that period. If the Board grants it, the successor receives the rights that would have remained to the original promoted person. If the Board declines, all rights and benefits are withdrawn. On any share sale, asset sale or group reorganisation, that three-month window is the binding constraint.
Three Board instruments have reshaped the land limb of investment promotion, and one of them also touches shareholding. They matter to any manufacturer planning a Thai site.
| Instrument | Dates | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Notification of the Board of Investment No. 16/2567 | Issued 1 November 2024; Gazette 9 December 2024 | Criteria for foreign juristic persons receiving promotion to own land for offices and residences. Paid-up registered capital of at least THB 50 million, maintained throughout ownership. Office land capped at 5 rai, worker housing at 20 rai. The earlier allowance of up to 10 rai for executive and expert residences was removed. |
| Notification of the Office of the Board of Investment No. Por. 9/2568 | Dated 18 July 2025; Gazette 6 January 2026 | Amended criteria and conditions for office and worker-residence land. Applications move to the BOI e-Land system with a seven-business-day electronic correction window. Worker accommodation must be purpose-built buildings. |
| Notification of the Board of Investment No. Sor. 7/2568 | Effective 1 September 2025; Gazette 30 December 2025 | Removes the land-ownership privilege for foreign-majority companies in six metal, chemical and plastics categories, subject to an exemption for a juristic person with at least three promoted projects in the past fifteen years totalling at least THB 5 billion of approved investment. Also adds a Thai majority shareholding condition for certain designated activities, unless the activity sits in a special border economic zone designated by the Board. |
The direction of travel is a narrower land privilege and a more formal filing route. For a metal, chemical or plastics project the sector test and the land test now have to be run separately, because a project can be eligible for promotion and ineligible to own its site.
The legal work on an investment promotion mandate is not the form. It is deciding which activity category the project should claim, building an application that satisfies section 18 on the merits, negotiating the conditions the Board proposes under section 20, and then keeping the company inside those conditions for the life of the certificate.
| Stage | What we do |
|---|---|
| Category and structure | Identify the eligible activity category and test the project against sections 16, 18 and 19; set the entity, capital and shareholding so the sector and land tests are both satisfied, including under Notification No. Sor. 7/2568 |
| Route comparison | Compare promotion against a Foreign Business Licence and, for US investors, against Treaty of Amity certification, so the client chooses on legal effect rather than on incentive headlines |
| Application | Prepare the project description, the capacity and demand analysis the Board weighs under section 18, and the environmental limb under section 19; respond to the Office's questions during consideration |
| Conditions | Review the conditions proposed under section 20 before acceptance is confirmed under section 21, and advise on which are workable over the life of the project |
| Land | File the section 27 land application and the ancillary office and worker-residence applications through e-Land, and run title and encumbrance due diligence on the site |
| People | Use the section 25 and section 26 rights to bring in skilled workers and experts and obtain their work permits |
| Compliance | Build the reporting, capital-maintenance, site and headcount obligations into a programme the board can evidence, so a section 54 withdrawal and a section 55 clawback never arise |
| Change and exit | Handle certificate amendments under section 23, section 41 permissions to relocate or deal with machinery, and the section 56 successor application on a transfer |
We scope every mandate in writing before work begins, so the engagement is priced against a defined workstream rather than against an estimate. Please contact us to discuss a specific matter.
Die Investitionsfoerderung in Thailand beruht auf dem Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520. Das Board of Investment erteilt einem Unternehmen mit einer foerderfaehigen Taetigkeit ein Foerderzertifikat. Dieses Zertifikat gewaehrt steuerliche Rechte, etwa die Befreiung von der Koerperschaftsteuer fuer bis zu acht Jahre nach Abschnitt 31, sowie nichtsteuerliche Rechte, etwa Grundeigentum nach Abschnitt 27 und Arbeitserlaubnisse nach Abschnitt 26.
Das Zertifikat ist eine dauerhafte Verpflichtung. Nach Abschnitt 20 kann das Board Bedingungen zu Kapital, Gesellschafterstruktur, Standort und Personal festlegen. Nach Abschnitt 40 darf der Betrieb fuer einen vom Board festgelegten Zeitraum von fuenf bis fuenfzehn Jahren nicht an einen anderen Ort verlegt werden. Verstoesst ein Unternehmen gegen diese Bedingungen, kann das Board die Verguenstigungen nach Abschnitt 54 entziehen, und die Zoelle sowie die Koerperschaftsteuer werden nach den Abschnitten 55 und 55/1 rueckwirkend nacherhoben.
Seit Ende 2024 wurde das Recht auf Grundeigentum zweimal eingeschraenkt. Die Bekanntmachung Nr. 16/2567 verlangt ein eingezahltes Kapital von mindestens 50 Millionen THB und begrenzt Bueroflaechen auf 5 Rai und Arbeiterunterkuenfte auf 20 Rai. Die Bekanntmachung Nr. Sor. 7/2568 schliesst sechs Kategorien der Metall-, Chemie- und Kunststoffindustrie vom Grundeigentum aus.
Lex Bangkok beraet deutschsprachige Unternehmen bei der Wahl der Foerderkategorie, bei der Antragstellung beim Board of Investment, bei den Bedingungen des Zertifikats, beim Grunderwerb nach Abschnitt 27 sowie bei der laufenden Einhaltung der Auflagen. Bitte kontaktieren Sie uns, um ein konkretes Vorhaben zu besprechen.
Dedicated expertise that turns complex BOI procedures into a competitive advantage.
Unlike general corporate firms, our BOI team focuses exclusively on investment promotion — ensuring deep expertise in every application.
Our lawyers understand the unique challenges multinational companies face when establishing or expanding operations in Thailand.
From initial consultation through years of post-promotion compliance, we cover the entire BOI timeline.
BOI promotion connects to company registration, work permits, accounting, and contracts. One firm managing your entire Thai operation.
We maintain rigorous compliance calendars and reporting systems so you never risk losing your BOI incentives.
Support with preparing the application and responding to BOI officers’ queries.
The BOI is a government agency under the Office of the Prime Minister responsible for promoting domestic and foreign investment in Thailand. It provides tax and non-tax incentives to qualifying businesses through investment promotion certificates.
Depending on the activity classification (A1 through B2), BOI-promoted companies can receive corporate income tax exemptions for up to 13 years, import duty exemptions on machinery and raw materials, and additional incentives for investments in targeted zones.
Yes. One of the most significant BOI benefits is the permission for foreign nationals to hold 100% of shares in a promoted company, bypassing the standard Foreign Business Act requirement for majority Thai ownership.
Most BOI-promoted activities require a minimum investment of 1 million Baht (excluding land and working capital). Certain priority activities may have different thresholds.
BOI-promoted companies must submit annual operating reports, maintain the conditions specified in their promotion certificate, report machinery imports, and notify the BOI of any corporate changes.
Yes. Existing companies can apply for BOI promotion for new projects or expansion of existing operations.
We handle BOI applications across all eight activity categories. Our team has particular experience with technology companies, manufacturing operations, digital services, and international trading companies.
We analyze the BOI’s feedback, restructure the application to address concerns, and resubmit. Our pre-submission review process is designed to minimize rejection risk.
BOI promotion works alongside company registration, work permit applications, and tax registrations. At Lex Bangkok, we coordinate all these processes for seamless integration.
Speak with our licensed Thai lawyers about your BOI eligibility, incentive options, and application timeline. Your first consultation is free.