Thailand has been imposing high rate of excise tax on alcoholic beverage, especially on wine and local liquor products. However, in 2024, a new amendment to this regulation will be made in order to reduce the tax rate for the purpose of supporting the economic growth in the tourism sector.
There will be a major reduction on the excise tax rate applied to wines and spirits. The wine import duties will be exempted from the current rate of 54-60 percent and the wine tax will be lowered to 5 percent from 10 percent. The local spirits will be exempted from the current rate of 10 percent. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance is planning to lower the tax on entertainment places to 5 percent from the current rate of 10 percent, which will remain in force until 31 December 2024.
In addition, the price tier system will be removed, and the flat rate of 5 percent will be applied instead for wines and sparkling wines. It is planning to reduce the excise tax on wine from the current rate of 1500 Baht per one liter to 1000 Baht per liter, which could possibly make wines more affordable. And for the fruit wines, the tax rate will be lower to 900 Baht per one liter. Currently, an additional 10 percent on the products with prices exceeding 1000 Baht. Also, the import duty on importing wines will be exempted for a period of one year provided that wine imported from all countries is eligible to receive the duty exemption, regardless of free trade agreements.