Thailand Board of Investment (BOI)
The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is the government agency that promotes investment by granting incentives to qualifying businesses, particularly export-oriented and priority industries. BOI-promoted projects can receive significant benefits, including corporate income-tax holidays, exemption or reduction of import duties on machinery and raw materials, and various non-tax privileges (such as permission to own land or bring in foreign specialists).
For trade and logistics, the most relevant BOI benefits are the import-duty exemptions on machinery and on raw materials used to make export products — which, administered with Thai Customs, reduce the landed cost of inputs for promoted manufacturers. BOI privileges have been central to attracting the automotive, electronics and other manufacturing that drive Thailand's exports, and they interact closely with free zones, bonded warehouses and customs procedures. For companies manufacturing or investing in Thailand, understanding BOI promotion — its duty and tax privileges and their customs administration — is important to structuring cost-competitive operations. The BOI is a cornerstone of Thailand's investment and export strategy.
BOI promotion is how Thailand attracts and retains export manufacturing — tax holidays and duty exemptions on machinery and inputs that cut the cost of doing business. For manufacturers, understanding BOI privileges and their customs administration is key to cost-competitive operations, and it explains much of why the auto and electronics sectors cluster in Thailand.
What incentives does the BOI grant?
Corporate tax holidays, import-duty exemptions on machinery and raw materials for export production, and non-tax privileges like land ownership and foreign specialists.
How does BOI relate to customs?
Its import-duty exemptions on machinery and inputs are administered with Thai Customs, reducing landed cost for promoted manufacturers.