Applying for BOI investment promotion — parent-company documents, translations and certifications to prepare in advance

Beyond tax incentives, a company promoted by the Board of Investment may be allowed to bring in foreign skilled workers and experts and to own land for the promoted activity, under the conditions in its promotion certificate.

These rights depend on conditions such as minimum investment, a start-of-operation deadline and progress reporting. Failure to meet them can lead to revocation.

The business plan filed with the Board of Investment must match the company registration documents, financial statements and stated funding sources. Investment figures, headcount and timelines should be identical across every document, because officers cross-check the sets against each other.

After the promotion certificate is issued, the company must file periodic progress reports under the certificate’s conditions and seek approval before material changes, such as the type of activity or the shareholding structure. Setting up record-keeping from the start keeps reporting continuous.

Promotion under the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977) offers tax incentives, such as corporate income tax exemption or reduction depending on the activity, and non-tax incentives, such as land ownership for the promoted business and bringing in foreign skilled workers or experts. The actual scope depends on the activity type and the Board announcements in force when you apply.

The promotion certificate sets conditions such as investment size, capacity, location and a deadline to start operations. The company must report progress as the BOI Office requires. Failing to meet conditions can lead to incentives being suspended or revoked.

Start by checking the activity against the BOI list of eligible activities to confirm it matches what the company really does. Then prepare the project data: products or services, process, investment, funding sources, hiring plan and marketing plan, consistent across every section. Conflicting figures between documents are a common reason for information requests.

Applications are filed through the BOI electronic system and may involve a project briefing with officials. Documents of foreign shareholders or a parent company should be certified to the required standard in advance, so that waiting for legalisation does not become the bottleneck for the whole project.

After approval, follow-up steps remain: a Section 12 Foreign Business Certificate if shareholders are foreign, approval of expert positions, and work permits through the One Start One Stop or visa and work permit centre.

A promoted company must start operating within the period on its certificate, and request an extension before the deadline if needed. Material changes, such as location, product or capacity, need approval before they happen, not notification afterwards.

The corporate income tax exemption applies only to income from the promoted activity. A company with both promoted and non-promoted income must keep clearly separate accounts. Auditors and accountants should know the certificate conditions from year one so tax filings do not conflict with reports sent to the BOI.

Duty-exempt imports of machinery or raw materials go through BOI systems, with usage records kept as the conditions require. Exempted machinery should not be sold or leased without permission. Setting up document control early keeps official inspections straightforward.

The Office of the Board of Investment publishes the list of eligible activities, Board announcements, application manuals and forms on its official website in Thai and English. The incentives for each activity are set in those announcements, not in general promotional material.

Before investing, read the conditions for the activity that matches your project in the announcement in force. If you are unsure which activity applies, you can ask the BOI Office directly before applying.

Approval is decided by the Office and the Board; no adviser can determine the outcome. An adviser’s role is to present the project completely, accurately and consistently.

We help identify the matching activity type, review investment, hiring and business-plan data for consistency, prepare company and shareholder documents including translation and certification of foreign documents, and help prepare the project briefing with officials.

After promotion, we help set out the follow-up tasks, such as the Foreign Business Certificate, expert positions, work permits and progress-report deadlines, so the company knows in advance what is due and when. Approval and keeping incentives depend on the BOI’s decision and the company meeting its conditions.

The company should be able to state precisely what the promoted activity is, how much will be invested and from where, how many Thai and foreign staff will be hired in which roles, what machinery or technology is used, where the project is located and what the early revenue plan looks like. These answers must match across the application, as inconsistency is a common reason for requests for further information.

It is also worth checking whether the activity carries specific conditions, such as minimum capital, shareholding ratios or required standards, as set out in the BOI announcements in force at the time of filing.