Customs mulls higher import duty rate

The Customs Department is considering raising the import duty rate on goods with a low value and applying a single, uniform rate to promote fairer competition between domestically produced goods and imported products.

- WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI

According to Phantong Loykulnanta, director-general of the department, the current import duty rates on lowvalue goods, which vary across multiple bands but average around 10%, are considered too low.

Imported goods avoid the corporate income tax in Thailand, while domestic operators are required to pay it, resulting in unfair competition and an uneven level playing field, he said.

More importantly, most low-value imported goods are typically ordered by Thai consumers online, generating revenue that is almost entirely transferred overseas, including income from product sales as well as domestic logistics and delivery services.