How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Thailand

Thailand no longer has a low-value exemption: VAT at 7% has applied to imports of 1,500 baht or less since 5 July 2024, and the government said duty would be charged from the first baht from 1 January 2026. Duty runs on the CIF value, and VAT on CIF plus duty, excise and other fees. The Customs Department collects both at import.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: CIF price plus import duty, excise tax and other taxes and fees.
• VAT standard rate: 7%. The rate set in the Revenue Code is higher; a Royal Decree holds it at 7%, including local tax, until 30 September 2027.
• Reduced rates: None listed

Not confirmed

• First-baht duty: the English Public Relations Department statement and the customs plan were read. A Thai PRD report of collections since 1 January 2026 appears only as a search excerpt, and its link returned 404 when opened. The notification itself was not found.
• The Thai Customs English postal page still shows the old 1,500 baht rule; it is out of date.
• Revenue Department's Revenue Code rate (10%) not read directly, so the note avoids stating it.
• Royal Decree No. 807 B.E. 2569 was seen in the Revenue Department's new legislation list and in the Gazette PDF header. The dates come from Revenue Department press release 18/2569, on the draft decree.

VAT went first, on 5 July 2024. Duty followed on 1 January 2026, when the government said the Customs Department would charge duty and VAT on online goods from as low as 1 baht, and discuss data sharing with platforms including Shopee and Lazada.

The customs plan document describes this as cutting the de minimis from not more than 1,500 baht to not more than 1 baht. We found the government statements and that plan, but not the notification itself.

Expect outdated information: Thai Customs' English postal page still shows the old rule. Importers pay VAT whether or not they're VAT-registered, and it's collected at the point of import.

CIF × duty rate = import duty. Then (CIF + duty + excise + other fees) × 7% = VAT. Royal Decree No. 807 B.E. 2569 holds VAT at 7%, including local tax, until 30 September 2027, so check again near that date.

1. Add cost, insurance and freight to get CIF, in baht.
2. Classify the goods with our HS code classifier. Take the tariff rate, then check trade agreements for a preference.
3. Multiply CIF by the duty rate. Even at 200 baht, duty is now due.
4. Add excise and other fees where they apply, then take 7% for VAT.
5. Check how the shipment is declared. An undated Customs page says parcels above 40,000 baht FOB need an electronic declaration, while Customs calculates the tax on smaller ones. Confirm with your carrier.

A phone stand, 1,200 baht CIF, by post.

Before 1 January 2026, the duty wouldn't have been charged.

Office chairs, 60,000 baht CIF.

• Quoting a duty-free band to 1,500 baht: it ended on 1 January 2026.
• Quoting a VAT rate other than 7%: the rate in the Revenue Code is higher, but the Royal Decree keeps it at 7% until 30 September 2027.
• Leaving duty out of the VAT base: it's in, along with excise and fees.

First, the first-baht duty rests on a Public Relations Department statement, a customs plan and an official-domain excerpt reporting collections since then. We couldn't find the notification itself. Second, we found no confirmed seller scheme for foreign e-commerce sellers on goods, so assume collection happens at import.

Ask your carrier how it clears low-value parcels, and what it passes on. This is guidance, not customs advice.