BOI Investment Promotion Guide

Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) can grant tax and non-tax incentives to projects that match a promoted activity and satisfy the conditions for that activity. Promotion is awarded to a defined investment project, not automatically to every company with foreign shareholders or every business operating in Thailand. The useful starting question is therefore not simply "Can my company get BOI?" but "Which current BOI activity code describes the project, and can the project meet every condition attached to it?"

This guide explains how to make that first assessment, what evidence a serious application needs and what happens after filing. BOI rules and activity conditions change, so confirm the current wording in the official Investment Promotion Guide 2026 before committing capital or designing a structure around an expected incentive.

What BOI promotion does

The Office of the Board of Investment is a government agency under the Office of the Prime Minister. It promotes qualifying investments under the Investment Promotion Act and BOI announcements. A successful applicant receives a promotion certificate that identifies the approved activity, products or services, capacity, investment and conditions.

Promotion is project-specific. A company may have both promoted and non-promoted operations, and income or imports outside the approved scope do not automatically receive the same treatment. The project described in the application must therefore match the operation the business intends to build.

Start with the promoted activity, not the headline benefit

The current BOI guide groups eligible activities across BCG industries, advanced manufacturing, basic and supporting industries, and digital, creative and high-value services. Each entry has its own definition and conditions. Some require particular technology, processes, qualifications, investment, capacity, location or customer profile.

1. Describe the actual revenue-producing activity. State what the project will make or deliver, how it works and who pays for it.
2. Find the closest current activity code. Read the complete entry, including footnotes and special conditions.
3. Test the project against every condition. A similar business label is not enough if the process, technology or output falls outside the definition.
4. Ask BOI when classification is uncertain. A clarification meeting before filing can expose a mismatch early.

Do not select an activity only because it appears to offer a longer tax benefit. An application must be technically and commercially coherent, and the approved scope will affect later use of privileges.

General project criteria

Activity-specific conditions come first, but the 2026 guide also sets general criteria. Applicants should test these before investing heavily in an application.

• Value added: the guide generally requires project value added of at least 20% of revenue, with a 10% threshold for specified exceptions including agriculture and agricultural products and electronic products and parts. Check the current guide because activity treatment can change.
• Production or service process: the project must use a modern and substantial process acceptable to the BOI.
• Machinery: new machinery is the normal basis. Imported used machinery is subject to age, certification and incentive rules. Do not purchase or transfer used equipment until its treatment has been checked.
• Environmental protection: projects must provide suitable environmental controls and comply with applicable environmental law, EIA requirements and location-specific rules.
• Minimum investment: the general minimum is THB 1 million excluding land and working capital unless the eligible-activity entry states another basis. Knowledge-based activities may use a minimum annual salary-expense condition instead.
• Capital structure: the guide states that a newly established project's debt-to-equity ratio must not exceed 3:1; expansions are considered case by case.
• Large projects: a feasibility study is required when investment exceeds THB 2 billion excluding land and working capital.

These are screening criteria, not a substitute for the full activity entry or other Thai laws that apply to the business.

Foreign ownership and BOI promotion

The 2026 guide states that activities in List One of the Foreign Business Act require Thai nationals to hold at least 51% of registered capital. For activities in Lists Two and Three, the BOI guide states that there is no BOI equity restriction unless another law provides one; the BOI may also set a foreign-shareholding limit for a particular promoted activity.

This does not mean promotion erases every ownership or licensing rule. Sector legislation, land rules, professional restrictions and the conditions in the promotion certificate still matter. Map the proposed shareholders and regulated activities before treating BOI promotion as part of the legal structure.

Benefits a promoted project may receive

The Investment Promotion Act allows a range of tax and non-tax incentives. The actual package depends on the approved activity group and may be affected by location, competitiveness expenditure, a special promotion measure and the conditions in the certificate.

Possible tax incentives

• Exemption or reduction of import duties on qualifying machinery.
• Import-duty treatment for qualifying raw or essential materials, including materials used for export production or approved research and development.
• Corporate income tax exemption for an eligible period and, where applicable, within an investment-based cap.
• Additional reductions or deductions where the relevant activity and measure allow them.

Possible non-tax incentives

• Permission processes for foreign skilled workers and experts working in the promoted activity.
• Permission to own land for the promoted operation, subject to approval and conditions.
• Permission to remit qualifying money abroad in foreign currency.
• Facilitation for foreign nationals entering Thailand to study investment opportunities.

These are potential privileges, not a standard package. Build the financial model using the exact activity group and written approval, and keep a version that remains viable if an assumed incentive is narrower than expected.

Evidence to prepare before filing

The official application guidance shows why a BOI filing is more than a company profile. The numbers and operational narrative must agree with each other.

• Applicant and shareholders: ownership, nationality, responsible contacts and existing business history.
• Finance and investment: registered capital, loans, construction or premises, machinery, installation, preliminary expenses, other assets, expertise and working capital.
• Location: province and, where relevant, the industrial estate or promoted zone.
• Products or services: clear non-brand descriptions, units, maximum annual capacity and intended operating hours.
• Process: a step-by-step production or service flow showing machinery, outsourcing and links to any existing project.
• Machinery: main equipment, origin, value, manufacturing year and required evidence for used imported machinery.
• Environment: pollution sources, treatment measures, EIA status and other required environmental documents.
• People and market: employment, domestic and export sales, major customers or customer groups and training plans.
• Operating plan: premises, machinery purchase or import, start of production, output ramp-up and raw-material requirements.
• Economics and merit: three-year revenue, costs and profits plus technology, skills, supplier-development or energy-conservation merits where relevant.

Before submission, reconcile capacity with machinery and operating hours, materials with output, sales with capacity, investment sources with investment uses, and projected profit with the cost assumptions. Contradictory tables weaken the explanation even when every field is populated.

Application process and official timelines

1. Confirm the activity and conditions. Review the current guide and discuss uncertainties with the responsible BOI division or the One Start One Stop Investment Center.
2. Build the project case. Complete the technical, financial, environmental and market evidence and attach activity-specific documents.
3. Submit through e-Investment. General applications use the official e-Investment Promotion portal. Certain measures follow other submission routes described in the official guide.
4. Attend project clarification. BOI arranges a meeting with the officer responsible, at the BOI office or by video conference.
5. Respond during evaluation. The 2026 guide gives evaluation bands of 40, 60 or 90 working days after complete documents, based on investment size and approval level. Missing or inconsistent information can prevent the complete-document clock from being meaningful.
6. Receive and assess the result. BOI states that it will notify the result within seven days of the certified meeting resolution date.
7. Accept the resolution. The applicant normally confirms acceptance within one month of notification through the Promotion Certificate System. The guide describes limited extensions.
8. Apply for the promotion certificate. The applicant normally has six months from accepting the resolution to submit the certificate application and supporting documents. BOI states that it issues the certificate within ten working days after receiving complete forms and documents.

Use these periods for planning, not as a guaranteed launch date. The activity, approval level, completeness of evidence and requests for clarification can affect the real schedule.

What happens after approval

Read the resolution and promotion certificate line by line. Record each condition, responsible owner, evidence source and deadline. Common workstreams include company and capital evidence, machinery and raw-material approvals, environmental compliance, construction or operational licences, foreign-expert permissions, opening the project, accounting separation and reports to BOI.

BOI promotion does not replace company registration, tax registration, factory or sector licences, immigration permission or work authorisation. Use the business setup guide to coordinate the wider launch and the business licences guide to identify separate approvals.

Keep promoted and non-promoted income, assets and transactions distinguishable in the accounting records. Exercise an incentive only when the project and transaction meet its certificate conditions and the required BOI approval or reporting step has been completed.

Common application mistakes

• Choosing an activity code from its title without reading its definition and conditions.
• Describing the company broadly instead of defining the promoted project precisely.
• Using capacity, machinery, raw-material and sales figures that do not reconcile.
• Assuming every incentive shown in the Act or guide will appear in the certificate.
• Ignoring environmental, sector-licence or foreign-ownership requirements outside the BOI process.
• Treating approval as complete and missing acceptance, certificate, import, commencement or reporting deadlines.

A practical pre-filing checklist

1. Record the exact current activity code and every attached condition.
2. Write a one-page explanation of the product or service, process, customer and value created in Thailand.
3. Prepare an investment schedule that reconciles sources and uses of funds.
4. Document capacity, machinery, process, materials, staffing, market and three-year economics on the same assumptions.
5. Identify environmental studies and every non-BOI licence required.
6. Map foreign shareholding against the Foreign Business Act and sector legislation.
7. Separate essential project economics from hoped-for incentives.
8. Nominate owners for BOI questions, certificate steps and post-approval reporting.
9. Confirm current forms, announcements and portal instructions immediately before filing.

When the project matches a promoted activity and the application evidence tells one consistent story, BOI promotion can become a valuable part of the investment plan. When the fit is uncertain, clarify the activity first rather than building the company, contracts and financial model around an incentive that may not apply.