A project in Bangkok: who handles registration, tax and BOI
For a project, Bangkok is not a place you go to file things; it is a jurisdictional coordinate. The province your place of business sits in decides which tax district you belong to. The province of your principal place of business decides which registrar holds the company file. Promotion conditions stack according to the province the project lands in. Very little genuinely has to be done in Bangkok any more. What costs you is a head office and a plant whose records drift apart.
01Bangkok decides who has jurisdiction, not where you queue
- Tax follows the place of business. The official licensing manual sets out two offline routes — place of business in Bangkok, and place of business outside Bangkok — plus an online route. The substantive conditions and the official total processing time are the same; what differs is the receiving office and how the file moves internally (source 2). Head office and branch each sit in their own district, and the head office does not handle everything from one desk.
- Company registration follows the principal place of business. The Civil and Commercial Code requires registration with the registrar for the locality of the principal place of business, and later changes to the registration go to the same registrar (source 3).
- Promotion conditions stack by the province the project is in. BOI has a separate announcement on promoting industrial investment in the Rayong area; and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) promotion measures require the project to be located in Chachoengsao, Chonburi or Rayong — Bangkok is not among them (source 1).
A head office in Bangkok with a plant in the East is governed by all three lines at once.
02Fewer steps have to happen in Bangkok than people assume
- The promotion application: filed online, and the project presentation can be a video call. A BOI promotion application is submitted through e-Investment, a few categories of measure aside; the project presentation may be given in person at a BOI office, or the responsible officer may arrange a video meeting (source 1).
- After the certificate, the East has its own receiving desk. The machine master list is received by the BOI investment administration division or by a regional investment and economic centre; of the seven regional centres, the eastern one is in Chonburi (source 1).
- Visas and work permits: this one really is concentrated in Bangkok. The one-stop service centre for visas and work permits is at One Bangkok, and BOI visas, LTR and SMART are all handled through that same centre (source 1).
Do not put the entity in Bangkok to be near the counter. Those are government counters, not the service point of any advisory firm. And do not assume the reverse either — that registering in Bangkok gets things done faster. The official total processing time for VAT registration is written the same for the online and the offline routes (source 2).
03Head office in Bangkok, plant in the East: three sets of records must line up
In a two-site structure one company carries three separate address records: the principal place of business on the company registration, the head office and branch registrations for VAT, and the place of operation (plant) and office address listed separately in the annex to the promotion certificate. They do not update each other, and the routes for changing them differ. Changing the place of operation goes through an amendment of project conditions and requires a copy of the project approval letter issued by the investment administration division. Changing the office address goes through the other amendment items and requires a company letter plus a copy of the company registration documents. The original promotion certificate has to be handed back either way (source 1).
The price of records that do not line up is an everyday one. Among the legally required particulars of a tax invoice, the issuer's name, address and tax ID and the buyer's name and address are substantive particulars; if a substantive particular is wrong or incomplete, that input tax cannot be used as a credit, unless the issuer cancels the original invoice and reissues it with the correct information (source 2). One formal requirement is listed separately: an invoice delivered from a place of business other than the head office that states the head office address must be annotated with the issuing branch (source 2).
04A service entity crosses the foreign-ownership line more easily than a factory
The common arrangement is to put the plant in the East and pack management, procurement and technical support into a company set up in Bangkok. The direction is right, but there is an asymmetry: most manufacturing activity is not on the restricted lists under the Foreign Business Act, while "other service businesses" is the catch-all item on the list (source 3). Once those functions are packaged as a separate entity providing services to others, they fall into that item easily, and a foreign business licence is then required.
The way out is usually the exemption in that Act: a foreigner who has been granted investment promotion, or who holds written permission under the laws on industrial estates, may operate a restricted business on the basis of a notification to the Director-General and a certificate issued in return (source 3). But this has to be thought through before the entity is set up.
05Moving a regional headquarters over as a package: this door has a closing date
If you want to move the headquarters functions across as well, there is a route with a time limit. The BOI comprehensive relocation measure is aimed at projects that move in a factory, a regional office and an R&D centre as a package. A newly applied-for manufacturing project must be filed at the same time as an international business centre (IBC), with certain categories excluded because they have their own dedicated policy, and the application window is open from the first working day of 2026 to the last working day of 2027 (source 4).
The conditions are firm too. The IBC and/or the R&D centre must generate revenue or provide services within one year from the date the promotion certificate is issued, failing which the additional corporate income tax exemption is revoked; and the deadlines for accepting the promotion and submitting the documents for issuance are not extended in any circumstances (source 4). Separately, the IBC qualifying conditions contain no geographic requirement — what is looked at is the business plan and scope of services, the paid-up capital and the number of professional employees (source 1).
What we do for a project here
- Jurisdiction mapping: putting the principal place of business on the company registration, the head office and branch VAT registrations, and the place of operation and office address listed in the promotion certificate annex into a single table, with every mismatch marked and the route for correcting each one named
- Document checking for a two-site structure: the legally required particulars of tax invoices and the issuing-branch annotation, plus a line-by-line check of names, addresses and identifiers on the import documents for each shipment, so input tax is not disallowed and release does not stall
- Handling Bangkok matters on your behalf: scheduling the positions, deadlines and documents for visas and work permits under the BOI route, and mapping the local reporting duties of foreign staff — our advisers deal with the offices and go with you, so you do not have to queue yourself
- Judgement before you choose a site or a structure: whether an activity item and its location conditions apply, where a service entity crosses the foreign-ownership line, and whether package relocation of a regional headquarters and the IBC route are workable, with the application window worked backwards
Key provisions at a glance
| Provision | Basis | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion applications are submitted through e-Investment; three categories are excluded: the productivity improvement measure, business transfer, and the community and social development measure | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025 (A Guide to BOI) | 2026-08 |
| The project presentation may be given at a BOI office, or the responsible officer may arrange a video meeting | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025 | 2026-08 |
| Machine's Master List, receiving offices: Investment Administration Divisions 1-4 / regional investment and economic centres | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025 | 2026-08 |
| There are 7 regional investment and economic centres (Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Chonburi, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Phitsanulok); the East is Centre 4, located in Laem Chabang Industrial Estate, Chonburi | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025, Regional Offices | 2026-08 |
| One-stop service centre for visas and work permits: One Bangkok, Bangkok (BOI visa / LTR / SMART all handled through the same centre) | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025 | 2026-08 |
| The BOI route issues a digital work permit; work permit books outside that route are issued by the labour authority of the province concerned | BOI, Thailand Visa and Work Permit Regulations | 2026-08 |
| Amendments to the annex of the promotion certificate follow two routes: 1.1 project conditions (including "place of operation / plant") and 1.2 other amendment items (including "office address") | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025, Amendment of Document Attached to Promotion Certificate | 2026-08 |
| Documents required to change the place of operation (table 1.1): a copy of the project approval letter issued by Investment Administration Divisions 1-4 plus the original promotion certificate; documents required to change the office address (table 1.2): a company letter plus a copy of the company registration documents plus the original promotion certificate | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025, same tables 1.1 / 1.2 | 2026-08 |
| Location condition of the EEC promotion measures: the project must be located in Chachoengsao, Chonburi or Rayong | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025, EEC measure condition 2 | 2026-08 |
| Projects located in Rayong province must comply with the policy on promoting industrial investment in the Rayong area | Office of the Board of Investment Announcement No. Por 1/2554 (2 May 2011), cited at clause 3.3 of the Investment Promotion Guide 2025 | 2026-08 |
| The three VAT registration routes (place of business in Bangkok / outside Bangkok / online) have the same substantive conditions and the same official total processing time; they differ in the receiving office and the internal steps | Revenue Department (RD), Licensing Manual (interactive version, 23 July 2567) | 2026-08 |
| The review steps for online VAT registration also include an officer's inspection of the applicant's place of business | Revenue Department (RD), Licensing Manual, Online VAT Registration Step 2 | 2026-08 |
| The VAT registration application is filed according to the location of the place of business (Bangkok / outside Bangkok / Large Business Tax Administration Office); where there are several places of business, filing and payment must be done separately for each, and combined filing requires submission of Por.Por.02 and approval | Revenue Department (RD) form P.P.01, filing instructions notes 3 and 4 | 2026-08 |
| Registration is made with the registrar for the locality of the principal place of business, and later changes to the registration are made with the same registrar | Civil and Commercial Code, section 1016 | 2026-08 |
| Where a tax invoice states substantive particulars untruthfully or incompletely, that input tax cannot be used as a credit, unless the issuer cancels the original invoice and reissues it with the correct information | Revenue Code section 82/5(3); Revenue Departmental Order No. Por. 86/2542, clause 24 | 2026-08 |
| A tax invoice delivered from a place of business other than the head office that states the head office address must be annotated with the issuing branch; this is a formal requirement and is not among the substantive particulars listed in clause 24 | Revenue Departmental Order No. Por. 86/2542, clause 18 (clause 19 provides exclusions) | 2026-08 |
| "Other service businesses" is the catch-all item (21) of List Three of the foreign business restrictions; List Three businesses may be operated only with the approval of the Director-General with the approval of the Committee | Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, List Three (21) and section 8(3) | 2026-08 |
| A foreigner who has been granted investment promotion, or who holds written permission under the laws on industrial estates, operates List Two / List Three businesses on the basis of a notification to the Director-General and a certificate issued in return | Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, section 12 | 2026-08 |
| Scope of the comprehensive relocation measure: moving in a factory, a regional office and an R&D centre as a package | BOI Board Announcement No. 2/2569, Comprehensive Relocation Measure (Thai original) | 2026-08 |
| Application window: from the first working day of 2026 (2569) to the last working day of 2027 (2570) | BOI Board Announcement No. 2/2569 | 2026-08 |
| A newly applied-for manufacturing project must be filed at the same time as an international business centre (IBC); categories that have their own dedicated policy and are not granted this benefit are excluded | BOI Board Announcement No. 2/2569, ข้อ 1.1(2) and 1.2(2) | 2026-08 |
| The IBC and/or the R&D centre must generate revenue or provide services within 1 year from the date the promotion certificate is issued, failing which the additional corporate income tax exemption (3 years or 5 years, as the case may be) is revoked | BOI Board Announcement No. 2/2569, condition (4) | 2026-08 |
| The deadlines for accepting the promotion and submitting the documents for issuance are not extended under any circumstances | BOI Board Announcement No. 2/2569, condition (3) | 2026-08 |
| The IBC qualifying conditions contain no geographic requirement (conditions 1-7 cover the business plan and scope of services provided to associated enterprises, the minimum paid-up capital, the minimum number of professional employees, and the exclusion of machinery and raw material duty exemptions) | BOI, Investment Promotion Guide 2025, activity 10.1.2, conditions 1-7 | 2026-08 |
| The 90-day residence report is filed with the immigration office for the area where the person currently lives; those who meet the conditions may report through the TM.47 online system, while those who left the country without a re-entry permit and returned, among other cases, must attend in person | Immigration Bureau, TM47 90-Day Report Online official manual (tm47.immigration.go.th) | 2026-08 |
Common questions
- Does registering in Bangkok get things done faster?
Nothing supports that. The official total processing time for VAT registration is written the same for all three routes — place of business in Bangkok, place of business outside Bangkok, and online registration — and the substantive conditions are the same as well; what differs is the receiving office and the internal steps. The online route also includes the step where an officer inspects the applicant's place of business. What should decide your location is the real shape of the business and the local obligations that come with it, not an imagined difference in speed.
- Can a project in Bangkok get the EEC incentives?
BOI's Eastern Economic Corridor measures require the project to be located in Chachoengsao, Chonburi or Rayong. Bangkok is not among them, so any measure conditioned on the project being in those three provinces is unavailable. Incentives for a Bangkok project have to be looked for in the activity item itself and in other measures that are not conditioned on location, and that has to be checked case by case.
- Head office registered in Bangkok, factory in the East — do we need two companies?
Not necessarily. One legal entity can have a head office and branches. What matters is that three sets of records line up: the principal place of business on the company registration, the head office and branch registrations for VAT, and the place of operation and the office address listed separately in the annex to the promotion certificate. For VAT, several places of business must each file and pay separately, and combined filing requires a separate application and approval. Whether you set up one entity or two depends on how the business is arranged and on foreign business restrictions, and has to be judged case by case.
- Do work permits and the 90-day report for foreign staff all have to be done in Bangkok?
Treat them separately. Visas and work permits under the BOI route are handled by the one-stop centre in Bangkok, which issues a digital work permit; work permit books outside that route are issued by the labour authority of the province concerned. The 90-day residence report is local — it is filed with the immigration office for the area where the person currently lives, so there is no need to go back to Bangkok. Those who meet the official conditions for online filing can report through the immigration online system; those who do not, for example someone who left the country without a re-entry permit so the count restarts on return, have to attend in person. The positions, deadlines and filing methods that apply are whatever the responsible authorities currently prescribe.
- Do you have an office in Bangkok? Do you take Bangkok projects?
CTAC Thailand is based in Chonburi and has no presence in Bangkok — no ambiguity about that; Bangkok is within our service coverage. Bangkok matters are handled and followed up by our advisers on your behalf, and where you have to attend in person or affix a seal we schedule it in advance and go with you. You do not need to work out the counter procedures yourself.
Related
Sources
- Board of Investment (BOI), Investment Promotion Guide 2025 (A Guide to BOI): submission of promotion applications through e-Investment and the excluded categories; the two ways of giving the project presentation; the offices that receive the machine master list; the seven regional investment and economic centres (one in the East, located in Laem Chabang Industrial Estate, Chonburi); the two routes for amending the annex to the promotion certificate and the documents each requires; the location condition of the EEC promotion measures; the citation of the dedicated announcement for the Rayong area; the one-stop service centre for visas and work permits at One Bangkok; the qualifying conditions for the IBC activity. Checked against the official text 2026-08.
- Revenue Department (RD): Licensing Manual (interactive version, 23 July 2567) — the three VAT registration routes (place of business in Bangkok, outside Bangkok, online registration) share the same substantive conditions and the same official total processing time and differ in the receiving office and the internal steps, and the online route includes an officer's inspection of the place of business; form P.P.01 filing instructions — the registration application is filed according to the location of the place of business, several places of business file and pay separately, and combined filing requires separate approval; Revenue Code section 82/5(3) and Revenue Departmental Order No. Por. 86/2542 — the legally required particulars of a tax invoice, the input tax consequence where a substantive particular is untrue or incomplete (clause 24), and the branch annotation where an invoice issued outside the head office states the head office address (clause 18). Checked against the official text 2026-08.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 and the Civil and Commercial Code: "other service businesses" as the catch-all item (21) of List Three, the approval requirement in section 8(3), and the arrangement in section 12 under which a foreigner granted investment promotion or holding written permission under the laws on industrial estates operates on a notification-and-certificate basis; Civil and Commercial Code section 1016 on the registrar for the locality of the principal place of business and on later changes to the registration. Checked against the official text 2026-08.
- BOI Board Announcement No. 2/2569, Comprehensive Relocation Measure (Thai original), BOI Thailand Visa and Work Permit Regulations, and the Immigration Bureau TM47 90-Day Report Online official manual: the scope of the relocation measure, the condition of filing together with an IBC, the start and end of the application window, the condition that the IBC or R&D centre produces revenue within one year and the consequence of revocation, and that the deadlines are not extended; the digital work permit under the BOI route and the issuer of other work permit books; the local filing of the 90-day residence report and the conditions for online acceptance. This page states no specific thresholds, fees, rates or processing days; the announcements currently in force at each responsible authority govern. Checked against the official text 2026-08.
The conditions and the support available differ from place to place. Describe the situation first, then we can talk about the approach.
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