In more detail
On 28 December 2023, the Notification of the Ministry of Finance re: Duty Reduction and Exemption of the Completely Built-Up BEVs was published in the Government Gazette. Under this notification, only the completely built-up BEVs that have an SRP not exceeding THB 2 million and are imported from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025 will be eligible for the customs duty incentives.
The customs duty incentives under this notification are an extension of the previous incentives granted in 2022, which expired on 31 December 2023. Under this notification, there are two types of completely built-up BEVs that will be eligible for the customs duty incentives:
- Passenger cars or transport cars with a seating capacity not exceeding 10 persons, and an SRP not exceeding THB 2 million
- Passenger cars or transport cars with a seating capacity not exceeding 10 persons, and an SRP exceeding THB 2 million but not exceeding THB 7 million
The new customs duty incentives are summarized below:
- Duty exemption: Applicable when the importer exercises the duty preferential tariff treatment under any Free Trade Agreement and is subject to an import duty rate lower than 40%.
- On top 40% duty reduction: Applicable when the importer exercises the duty preferential tariff treatment under any Free Trade Agreement and is subject to an import duty rate exceeding 40%.
- Duty reduction of 40%: Applicable when the importer does not exercise the duty preferential tariff treatment under any Free Trade Agreement.
However, the crucial condition to be eligible for the customs duty incentives is that the importer must show the certificate of eligibility of the excise subsidy phase 2 under the EV3.5 measure, in which it is still questionable whether transport cars with a seating capacity not exceeding 10 persons can qualify for this excise subsidy program. The details of the EV3.5 measure are in the Excise Notification on Determination of Criteria, Methods, and Conditions to Obtain Incentives under the Measures Promoting the Use of Electric Vehicles Phase 2 for Passenger Cars and Motorcycles.
On 28 December 2023, the Customs Department issued the Notification of Customs Department No. 177/2566 to set out the criteria and customs formalities for the importer in utilizing duty reduction and exemption of the completely built-up BEVs under this notification.
For further details, please contact our Tax team.
