Jul – Dec 2024: B2C Sellers to charge 7% VAT in checkout on low-value consignments of goods imported to consumers
Thailand is to impose VAT on low-value consignments of goods being imported directly to consumers between 5th July and December 2024. Any consignment at or below Baht 1,500 is currently VAT exempt.
Import VAT will now be collected all on packages at the border by Customs.
Alternatively, VAT could be charged at the online checkout, and the sellers then register for VAT and submit returns and remittances. This will be through a simplified registration scheme with no registration threshold. In the case of failure to register, payment service providers (e.g. credit cards) would have to withhold the VAT.
After December, there will be a law change to allow the revenue department to continue collecting VAT on such products.
Ending low-value consignment relief to level playing field on cheap Chinese imports
The measure is being introduced to boost government revenues and level the playing field for Thai-resident e-commerce sellers who must charge VAT on all sales to consumers. They have been losing out to Chinese sellers able to take advantage of the existing import threshold.
Similar measures already apply to Thai VAT on digital services since 2021.
The measure will extend to deemed supplier marketplaces. For VAT purposes, they will become the party responsible for VAT collections on behalf of their third-party sellers.
