Referring a BOI Investment Project to Thailand: Information Needed Before a Feasibility Review

The core answer

A BOI feasibility review is useful only when it starts from what the project will actually do. Before you refer a client, collect a plain description of the activity, the investment plan, the people, the revenue model and the timetable. Do not promise the client BOI promotion before the review. The Board decides.

The rule (Investment Promotion Act). Promotion is granted under the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 to activities on the Board of Investment's eligible list, under criteria and conditions the Board sets. Privileges that may be granted include permission to bring in skilled workers and experts (section 25), to own land for the promoted activity (section 27), import duty exemption on machinery (section 28) and corporate income tax exemption (section 31), each subject to conditions. Promotion does not replace other approvals such as factory licences or environmental review.

Our practical view. Send the information in section 2 before asking for a view. Expect a written note that names the likely activity type, the main conditions, the gaps and the other approvals the project needs.

For the founder's view of the BOI process itself, see the BOI application process in Thailand.

1. Why start from the activity, not the incentive?

• BOI promotes activities, not companies. The question is whether what the Thai company does matches an activity type on the eligible list, and whether it meets that type's conditions.
• Clients often start from the wrong question. "Can we get BOI?" cannot be answered. "What exactly will the Thai company do, for whom and where?" can.
• One company may do several things. A company can carry out promoted and non-promoted activities, but the two must be kept apart in the accounts and in practice. See running BOI and non-BOI activities in one company.

2. What information should you collect before the review?

Use the client's own figures. This guide gives no investment thresholds: they vary by activity and change with BOI announcements. For an existing company, see applying for BOI with an existing Thai company.

3. What can a feasibility review tell you, and what can't it?

It can tell you:

• the activity type or types the project most likely fits
• the main conditions that usually come with that type
• what information or evidence is missing
• which other approvals the project needs, and in what order

It cannot tell you:

• whether BOI will approve the project
• which privileges will be granted, or for how long
• how BOI will view the project at interview
• how BOI privileges are treated under the client's home-country tax rules

Say this to the client before the review, not after it.

4. Which other approvals still apply?

• Factory licence under the Factory Act where the activity uses machinery or workers above the thresholds set by law. See factory operating licences.
• Environmental impact assessment for project types listed under environmental law.
• Foreign Business Act certificate under section 12 for a foreign company's promoted activity.
• Work permits and visas for foreign staff, through BOI's process for promoted companies. See BOI work permits and visas for employers.
• Sector licences such as FDA registration or energy permits.
• Land. Permission to own land under section 27 is tied to the promoted activity. Check the site separately; see land due diligence for a project site.

5. Which red flags should you catch at intake?

• The client describes the incentive it wants, not the activity.
• The activity is described differently in the business plan, the pitch deck and the draft application.
• Thai shareholders have no clear source of funds.
• Machinery is second-hand with unclear origin.
• Most revenue comes from activities outside the likely promoted activity.
• The planned start date leaves no time for factory, environmental or permit approvals.
• Someone has promised the client "guaranteed" approval.

None of these ends a project. Each one needs an answer before the application, not during BOI's review.

6. Sample intake form (fictional)

The example below is entirely fictional. The company and the entries are invented to show the format.

BOI FEASIBILITY INTAKE — Example Components Co., Ltd. (fictional)
Referred by: [adviser]            Date: [date]

1. ACTIVITY (plain words)
   Manufacture of [component] for [industry] customers.
   Process: [main steps].
2. CLIENT'S VIEW OF LIKELY ACTIVITY TYPE
   [activity type from BOI list, or "unsure"]
3. INVESTMENT PLAN (client figures, by year)
   Machinery: [amount]   Buildings: [amount]   Working capital: [amount]
4. MACHINERY
   New / used: [ ]   Country of origin: [ ]   Import date: [ ]
5. LOCATION
   Province: [ ]   Industrial estate: yes / no   Land: own / lease
6. PEOPLE
   Thai staff: [ ]   Foreign experts: [ ]   Roles: [ ]
7. REVENUE
   Domestic: [ ]   Export: [ ]   Main customer types: [ ]
8. TIMELINE
   Target start of operations: [month, year]
9. SHAREHOLDING AND FUNDING
   [shareholder / nationality / share / source of funds]
10. ENVIRONMENT
   Emissions, waste, water: [ ]   EIA possibly needed: yes / no / unsure
11. OPEN QUESTIONS FROM THE CLIENT
   [ ]

7. What happens after approval?

The promotion certificate is where the obligations start. The company must meet its conditions, start operations within the set period, report to BOI and keep records of machinery and raw materials where privileges were used. Changes to the project, the shareholding or the location may need BOI approval. See living with BOI promotion after approval.

Name one owner for BOI compliance at the start, alongside the accountant and the immigration provider. See coordinating Thai legal, accounting and immigration work.

8. How should the work be phased?

1. Feasibility note on the information in section 2.
2. Application preparation and filing.
3. Interview and follow-up. See preparing for a BOI interview.
4. Set-up after approval: Foreign Business Act certificate, work permits, land, machinery imports.

Usually excluded unless agreed: financial projections, home-country tax advice, engineering and environmental studies. If you are the referring firm, check your own professional rules before agreeing any fee arrangement with Thai counsel. This guide gives no fee figures.

9. Checklist

1. Describe the activity in plain words before anything else.
2. Collect the investment plan in the client's own figures.
3. Record whether machinery is new or used, and its origin.
4. Note the location, land and environmental questions.
5. List people, especially foreign experts and their roles.
6. Split revenue into domestic and export, and by customer type.
7. Confirm shareholders and the source of funds.
8. Tell the client that BOI decides, and that other approvals still apply.

Further reading

• BOI application process in Thailand
• Which businesses can apply for BOI promotion
• Living with BOI promotion after approval
• Buying a BOI-promoted company: due diligence before the share transfer

Start from the activity, collect the facts in section 2, and promise the client a review, not an approval.

We advise on BOI applications and the licences and permits around them, instructed by the investor directly or through its advisers. For an initial consultation, call +66 92 254 2045 or send us the details. See also investment and BOI, business licences and factory set-up.

This guide is published by Suwanvara Law Firm — a Khon Kaen law firm established in 1986. General information only, not legal advice on a specific matter.