Thailand
Thailand: Counter Service to charge 10% fee for VAT refund
Counter Service, the first agent for tourist VAT refund, will charge a 10% fee for the service, according to the Revenue Department.
The department on Monday named the subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Group as the agent in Bangkok and the vicinities under a pilot project running until March 31 next year.
Two other candidates were disqualified — one because it did not specify in its memorandum of association it would act as a tax refund agent and the other because it proposed five tax refund outlets, instead of not more than three required by the department.
Counter Service currently operates payments services at 7-Eleven convenience store chain, also under the CP group.
Spending by tourists eligible for a VAT refund must be at least 2,000 baht per shop per day. To qualify for the maximum 12,000-baht refund, a tourist must spend almost 200,000 baht, said Pinsai Suraswadi, director of the Bureau of Tax Policy and Planning under the Revenue Department.
The goods and services must be bought in Bangkok and the vicinities, not in the provinces, he said.
Counter Service would offer the tax refund service at three 7-Eleven stores in the capital — the Siam branch near Lido theatre, Yaowarat branch on Phadung Dao Road and Rama IX branch at Bangkok Night Bazaar.
High-value goods must be declared such as jewellery, gold ornaments, watches, glasses, pens, mobile phones, portable computers, bags and goods worth 10,000 baht or more.
Since the beginning of the year, 2.5 million tourists filed for tax refund, up 54% from the same period last year. The refund paid totalled 2.5 billion baht for the value of goods and services of 48 billion baht.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism-and-transport/1550658/counter-service-to-charge-10-fee-for-vat-refund