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Thailand: Draft of new tax for EV industry on track

The draft of a new excise tax for the electric vehicle (EV) industry is on track and is expected to be finished this year, said Lavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the Excise Department.

The new tax is aimed at stimulating demand for EVs in Thailand and wooing foreign investment into the industry, Mr Lavaron added.

The national committee in charge of the policy will hold a meeting on the EV industry this week to further push its development. The committee is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.

The committee is targeting the use of 225,000 units of all types of EVs by 2025, representing 10% of total vehicle production in Thailand, before it rises to 725,000 units in 2030, representing 30% of total car production.

The committee has discussed with three electricity-generating authorities the development of smart grid infrastructure to serve the EV sector. The committee is targeting a total of 12,000 fast chargers by 2030. The charging rate at present is 2.60 baht per unit.

In a separate matter, he said that the final details of the new cigarette excise tax will be finished by Oct 1.

The Excise Department is deliberating the excise tax structure for cigarettes to strike a balance between public revenue, farmers’ income, public health and tackling illegal cigarettes.

The present tobacco tax structure stipulates a 20% tax rate be applied to the retail price for packs costing up to 60 baht. If the retail price exceeds 60 baht per pack, a 40% tax rate will be applied.

A flat tax rate of 40% was scheduled to be applied since Oct 2019 regardless of the retail price. The Finance Ministry has extended the two-tier tobacco tax rate until Sept 30 this year.

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2155275/draft-of-new-tax-for-ev-industry-on-track