To become a fully Thailand BOI compliant company, the company has to complete the conditions set out in the BOI certificate. Some BOI companies are required to have the minimum investment (excluding cost of land and working capital) of at least 1 million Baht (or any the amount specified in the BOI certificate). In addition to the investment, the process of production must comply with the certificate as well. Once the company meet the above conditions which need to be done within 3 years from the date of issuance of the BOI certificate, it is the time for officially opening operation with Thailand Board of Investment.
The steps to open Thailand BOI operation
- Fill out the open operation form. In the form, apart from the company general information, the promoted company has to show the list of machinery used in the project and its details such as price of machines and the date of purchase. The investment in the machinery is the main issue that the BOI official wants to see because it shows that the company can complete the required investment capital or not. Another thing that should be noted is all machines which the BOI allows to include in the list shall be bought before the last day of Year 3. For example, a software company (that applied for BOI promotion before 2015), which is required to invest at least 1 million Baht, has the certificate issued on 1 May 2015. Computers and software which are considered as machinery need to be bought before 30 April 2018. Therefore, the BOI official will ask the promoted company to attach the list of company assets and the copy of legitimate receipts of computers and software. Without the receipts, the payment for those things cannot be counted as part of the required investment.
Moreover, other assets that are not classified as machinery such as desks, shelves, chairs etc., can be included as the part of the investment. Therefore the promoted company has to add them in the form with their details too. The rules about timing and documents of purchasing are the same as those of investment in machinery.
The company can also add the other payments to include in the capital investment if they are eligible such as leasehold improvement cost, rentals (where the lease agreement is longer than 3 years) etc. For more info about the meaning of capital investment, please see https://thailawyers.com/thailand-boi-what-can-be-included-as-part-of-investment-capital-per-boi-promotion-condition/
- Prepare the documents as follows:
- Copy of Company Registration Certificate
- Copy of list of shareholder certified than 6 months
- Company affidavit certified less than 6 months
- Copy of the most recent financial statements audited by a Thai CPA
- Copy of the first invoice showing the first income of the promoted project.
- Production process chart
- Computers location lay-out
- When the form and the documents are filed, the Board of Investment will inspect the company. The official will check if the fixed assets (computers, software and other assets) are present at the company premises and the amount of investment is correct. They will also investigate the production process to see if it is in compliance with the conditions in the certificate or not. Once the project operation has been approved to open, the company can start to exercise the right of tax exemption. For more info about tax exemption, please see https://thailawyers.com/when-can-a-thailand-boi-company-start-using-tax-exemption/
We at Thai Lawyers Ltd, can assist you throughout Thailand BOI process. Contact us today.