On 04 Dec 2025, the Thailand Customs Department issued Notification No.219/ 2568, ending the customs import duty exemption for goods valued at not more than 1,500 Baht, and thereby also ending the VAT exemption for such goods.

This insight has been updated for Customs Dept Notification No.219/2568. 

The Thailand VAT Law

Under ​Section 77/2 of the VAT law, imports of goods are transactions subject to value added tax.

But whilst imports of goods are transactions subject to value added tax Section 81(2)(c) of the VAT law specifically exempts from VAT:

• Imports of low value goods that are exempt from import duty under the customs law.

The Government's Resolution

The Government's resolution is to address the unfair competition between the import of low value goods of foreign sellers that are not subject to VAT and the domestic sales of low value goods by Thailand sellers that are subject VAT.

Customs Department Notification No.219/2568

Pursuant to the Government's resolution, Customs Department Notification No. 219/2568, issued on 04 December 2025, prescribes as follows:

1. The Customs Department Notification No.191/2018 issued on 31 Jul 2018 (which prescribed the exemption for goods valued at no more than 1,500 Baht) shall be repealed,
2. Imports of goods exempt from import duty are goods valued at no more than 1 Baht,
3. "Value" is the customs value, and
4. This Notification shall be effective from 01 January 2026 onward.

VAT Exemption for Low Value Import Goods

Accordingly, upon the ending of the customs import duty exemption for goods valued at not more than 1,500 Baht, those goods then lose their tax exemption status under the VAT law, and thereby become subject to VAT on import, at the current standard rate of 7% VAT applying to imports of goods transactions.

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