Thailand : Penalties of non-tax compliance
Introduction
Taxes in Thailand are imposed in various forms, and the authorities governing each form of payment are separated from each other. The main authorities governing the tax collection in Thailand will be as follows:
- Revenue Department – Responsible for collecting personal income tax, corporate income tax, value-added tax (VAT), withholding tax, specific business tax, and stamp duty.
- Excise Department – Responsible for collecting excise taxes.
- Customs Department – Responsible for collecting customs duties on imported and exported goods.
- Local Administrative Authorities – Responsible for collecting local taxes, including land and building tax and signboard tax.
If a taxpayer fails to comply with the obligations to pay the taxes referred to above, neglects or refuses to act in accordance with the law, evades taxes, or provides
false information, the relevant authorities are entitled to impose fines, additional charges, and in some cases, criminal penalties against such taxpayer.
| Personal Income Tax (PIT) | Failure to file or late submission of a tax return | Fine not exceeding 2,000 THB | Section 35 of the Revenue Code |
| Failure to file a tax return to evade tax | Fine not exceeding 200,000 THB or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or both | Section 37 Bis of the Revenue Code | |
| Giving false statement or evidence to evade tax | Imprisonment for a term of 3 months to 7 years, and a fine of 2,000 to 200,000 THB | Section 37 of the Revenue Code | |
| Late payment of assessed tax | Surcharge of 1.5 percent per month and a fine of 2,000 THB imposed on the period of the month that the tax has not yet been paid | Section 27 of the Revenue Code | |
| Corporate Income Tax (CIT) | Failure to file or late submission of a tax return | Fine not exceeding 2,000 THB | Section 35 of the Revenue Code |
| Failure to file a tax return to evade tax | Fine not exceeding 200,000 THB or an imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or both | Section 37 Bis of the Revenue Code | |
| False statement or gives false statement or evidence to evade tax | Imprisonment for a term of 3 months to 7 years, and a fine of 2,000 to 200,000 THB | Section 37 of the Revenue Code | |
| Late payment of assessed tax | Surcharge of 1.5 percent per month | Section 27 of the Revenue Code | |
| Value Added Tax (VAT) | Operating a business without VAT registration | Fine twice the tax due in the tax month for the duration of failure to comply with such provision, or 1,000 THB, whichever is greater. Imprisonment up to 1 month, or a fine up to 5,000 THB, or both | Section 89 (1) of the Revenue Code Section 90/2 of the Revenue Code |
| Late or missing VAT return/payment | Fine twice the amount of tax due or remittable in the tax month | Section 89 (2) of the Revenue Code | |
| Filing a VAT return or remitting VAT incorrectly, causing the VAT due or remitted to be under- or over-stated | Additional penalty equal to the amount of underpaid or overpaid VAT | Section 89 (3) of the Revenue Code | |
| Filing an incorrect VAT return resulting in understated output VAT or overstated input VAT | Fine for the amount of the deficient output tax or excess input tax | Section 89 (4) of the Revenue Code | |
| Using false tax invoice in tax calculation partly or wholly | Fine twice the amount of tax on such an invoice | Section 89 (7) of the Revenue Code | |
| Late or incomplete VAT payment/remittance | Surcharge of 1.5 percent per month on the unpaid VAT | Section 89/1 of the Revenue Code | |
| Failure to issue or deliver a tax invoice | Imprisonment up to 1 month, or a fine up to 5,000 THB, or both | Section 90/2 of the Revenue Code | |
| Failure to prepare VAT-related reports | Imprisonment up to 6 months, or a fine up to 10,000 THB, or both | Section 90/3 of the Revenue Code | |
| Specific Business tax | Operating a business subject to specific business tax without registration | Imprisonment not exceeding 1 month or a fine not exceeding 5,000 THB or both | Section 91/18 of the Revenue Code |
| Failure to prepare a record of taxable and exempt gross receipts | Imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding 10,000 THB or both | Section 91/19 of the Revenue Code | |
| Stamp Duty | Neglecting or refusing to pay duty or cancel stamp | Fine not exceeding 500 THB | Section 124 of the Revenue Code |
| Customs Duty | Failure to comply with the Customs Act, including the failure to submit goods declaration, pay the full amount of duties, or provide a security deposit | Fine not exceeding 50,000 THB | Section 208 of Customs Act 2017 |
| Withholding tax | Failure to pay or remit withholding tax within the prescribed period | Surcharge of 1.5 percent per month and fine of 2,000 THB imposing on the period of the month that the tax has not yet been paid | Section 27 of the Revenue Code |
| Failure to issue withholding tax certificates | Fine not exceeding 2,000 THB | Section 35 of the Revenue Code | |
| Failure to withhold or remit the full Withholding Tax | Payer is jointly liable with the payee for the unpaid Withholding Tax | Section 54 of the Revenue Code |