A couple of months ago, Thailand introduced a new Excise Tax law, officially called the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2560 (2017).

The law – which came into effect on 16 September – brings together seven previous laws, and is designed to boost transparency, fairness and appropriateness, while improving regulations in the area to better prepare the country for rigorous competition in international trade.

Put simply the tax is now being calculated based on the retail price, while it was previously calculated based on ex-factory or CIF (cost, insurance and freight) prices.

The law was carefully designed so it does not add any extra burden on business operators or consumers, but if you have visited Thailand before, you may notice small price increases on some products; such as, alcohol beverages, playing cards, sugary drinks, and tobacco. You may also find that the price of some items has actually decreased.

In the spirit of transparency, here are the highlights of how some products you may look to buy are now taxed:

• Wine: If a bottle of wine is priced above 1,000 Baht, the tax is 110 Baht or more, depending on the price. If you choose locally made wine, the tax has decreased by 25 Baht per bottle.

• Beer: Taxes on a can of beer have increased by 0.50 Baht, while taxes on bottles of beer have gone up by 2.66 Baht. Taxes on higher-priced beer have decreased by between 0.99 Baht and 2 Baht.

• Cigarettes: Taxes on low-cost cigarette brands (priced at 60 Baht or lower), will mean the cost per pack has increased by 4 Baht to 15 Baht, while higher-priced cigarettes are now taxed at 2 Baht to 10 Baht more per pack.

• Sugary drinks: Soft drink taxes are now between 0.13 Baht and 0.50 Baht per bottle, while taxes on sugar-free soft drinks have gone down by between 0.28 Baht and 0.36 Baht per bottle.

It is also important to note that visitors who import unpaid excise goods shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to a fine, from five times to twenty times of the amount of excise to be paid, or to both.

For more information about the new EXCISE ACT B.E. 2560 (2017), please visit https://www.excise.go.th/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dwnt/mjk4/~edisp/uatucm298729.pdf