Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) has extended its previously announced period for reduction of import duty on imported raw and essential materials for battery manufacturing for electric vehicles and other applications. The BOI’s announcement No. 5/2565 dated August 8, 2022, extended the reduction period to a maximum of five years. The BOI’s promoted activities list includes two battery-manufacturing business activities: Activity 4.8.3.1 – Battery manufacturing Activity 5.2.6.1 – High energy density battery manufacturing Qualifying battery manufacturers who have cell or module manufacturing processes are eligible for 90% import duty reductions on raw and essential materials that cannot be produced in Thailand. These reductions will be available on an annual basis, and are renewable for five years in total—up from the original two years. Existing projects (i.e., those which have the original two-year duration in their BOI certificate) can also benefit from the extension by preparing a project amendment form, along with a clarification letter and supporting documents, for submission to the BOI office. For more details on these customs duty reductions, or on any aspect of investment promotion in Thailand, please contact Charuwan Charoonchitsathian at [email protected] or +66 2056 5657, or Napassorn Lertussavavivat at [email protected] or +66 2056 5662.

On June 21, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet updated and approved in principle a five-year personal income tax exemption for foreign filmmaking companies and actors working on motion pictures in Thailand. The tax measure, which is intended to promote the use of Thailand as a filming location, is similar to a 2012 law that authorized a temporary personal income tax exemption for nonresidents shooting movies for foreign filmmaking companies. Normally, nonresident artists are subject to tax on income from filmmaking in Thailand. These artists have to declare their income and submit personal tax returns to the local tax authorities for both midyear and annual tax submission deadlines. Depending on the amount of income (including remuneration, per diem, travel expense allowance, etc.), personal income tax rates can be up to 35%. With the exemption, however, nonresident actors will in effect be able to bypass these taxation requirements. This incentive will not grant a tax exemption to foreign directors, producers, film crews, or other filmmaking staff. However, based on current Thai Revenue Department guidelines, a filmmaking company will have no tax liability in Thailand if no income is earned during the filmmaking itself. The incentive scheme is expected to pass into law soon after the cabinet’s approval. While this incentive provides strong incentives for foreign companies to film in Thailand, a number of other considerations will remain—for instance, customs duty liability on equipment temporarily brought into Thailand, personal income tax implications, and film crew members’ compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. For more information on the exemption for foreign filmmaking companies and actors, or on any aspect of risk mitigation and legal compliance relating to filming operations in Thailand, please contact Auaychai Sukawong at [email protected] or +66 2056 5537.

A recent notification (No. 20/2022) from Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance requires all companies and organizations in Myanmar, including nonprofits, to apply for a taxpayer identification number (TIN) by June 30, 2022, or within 90 days of establishment. TINs were stipulated in the Tax Administration Law 2019, but up until this notification there had been no clear mandatory implementation. The notification, which took effect on April 1, 2022, signals the government’s intention to improve tax management tasks in the country, offer more efficient tax services, and streamline taxpayer registration procedures in Myanmar. The section of the Tax Administration Law about TINs states that the Internal Revenue Department is responsible for determining and issuing each TIN. In accordance with this, the notification requires that any entity that was formed and registered (i.e., at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, or—for nonprofits—at any government department or organization) before April 1, 2022, must apply for a TIN by June 30, 2022. Those established or registered on or after April 1, 2022, are to apply for a TIN within 90 days of registration. After registering for a TIN, taxpayers must use the number for all tax-related purposes—including income tax, commercial tax, and special excise tax—as well as for liaising with the Internal Revenue Department (e.g., to submit tax returns), making payments, importing goods, applying for exporter and importer licenses, and conducting business transactions (e.g., tenders). For more details on these TIN requirements or any aspect of taxation regulations in Myanmar, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

On February 15, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet approved in principle a package of incentives to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Thailand, with the aim of making the country an EV manufacturing hub in Asia. A week later, the cabinet approved further draft regulations including specific information on customs duty reductions and exemptions for certain types of imported EVs. The plan includes both tax and non-tax incentives from 2022 until 2025. In the first two years (2022–2023), the package incentivizes the widespread use of EVs in Thailand by providing exemption or reduction of import duties and excise tax, as well as subsidies to increase the demand for EVs and attract investment in the EV industry. These incentives will cover the importation of completely built up (CBU) cars and motorcycles, and the local manufacturing of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles in Thailand. For the following two years (2024–2025), the plan promotes the use of domestically produced EVs by eliminating the exemption or reduction of import duties for CBU vehicles while maintaining the other incentives (e.g., reduced excise tax rates, and subsidies). The aim of this is to make the cost of CBU vehicles higher than locally produced vehicles to encourage operators to produce EVs in the country to meet increasing demand. Additional measures encourage the manufacturing of EVs in Thailand, including exemption of import duties for parts imported between 2022 and 2025, and treatment of the value of imported battery cells as a cost of local manufacturing (up to 15% of an EV’s retail price). This is beneficial to local manufacturers of EVs, as their activities will be entitled to a more generous incentive package than importation of EVs. At their meeting on February 22, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet further approved draft subordinate regulations, including specific reductions and exemptions of customs duty