In the era of a borderless economy, where international trade is more interconnected than ever, understanding import duties is a key factor in keeping businesses agile and strengthening their global competitiveness—knowledge of taxes enables them to plan pricing strategies. It directly affects the costs and gross profits of Thai entrepreneurs engaged in inbound activity, thereby supporting faster responses to commercial challenges and changes.

In this article, we will learn what import duties are, their rates and importance, and how to calculate them, so local operators can gain more knowledge and understanding. It also goes into fiscal solutions that make document preparation and international trade tax reporting easier.

What’s in this article?

• What is import duty?
  
• The importance of import duties
  
• Import duty rate
  
• How to calculate import duty
  
• The latest policy on import duties
  
• Choosing a tax solution for international trade
  
• How Stripe Tax can help
  

What is import duty?

Import duties are a part of foreign levies collected by the Customs Department on all goods brought in from abroad to generate revenue for the government and protect domestic industries. Duty fees vary depending on the type of items and the requirements of the Harmonized System (HS) code, which is Thai Customs’ numerical classification framework used to determine accurate inbound tax rates.

The importance of import duties

The collection of import duties is important to the Thai economy and has a direct impact on global commerce as follows:

Sources of government revenue

Import duties are one of the government’s core sources of revenue from international trade. They are used to develop the country in various areas such as public health, education, and infrastructure.

Maintain economic stability

Customs charges are one of the tariff walls that help control and reduce the volume of inbound goods, thereby helping prevent negative impacts such as rising living costs, depreciation of the baht, and reduced local employment.

Protect domestic producers

The collection of import duties plays a key role in protecting domestic industries by making inbound shipments more expensive, helping local producers compete with cheaper overseas merchandise.

Promote domestic products

These tariffs raise prices on imported stock, helping reduce the inward shipment of certain products that could impact economic stability. It also encourages customers to choose locally made goods more often, helping to stimulate the market and reduce reliance on foreign items.

Control the quality and safety of products

The collection of tariffs alongside the inspection of inbound shipments helps promote or restrict the consumption of certain products. It is another approach to prevent low-quality or hazardous inventory from entering the nation, which directly impacts shoppers’ safety.

Support government policies

Governments use import duties to advance commercial goals, for instance supporting emerging industries or redistributing income to the local economy.

Bargaining power in international trade

It is used as a tool for negotiating and managing international trade to balance the country’s financial interests and those of domestic customers by adjusting import duties in response to subsidies on foreign goods.

Import duty rate

Import duty rates in Thailand depend on several factors, including the type and nature of the items, the quantity brought in, the terms of free trade agreements (FTAs), and the purpose of the analysis or use. These charges can be divided into two main categories as follows:

Criterion 1: Classified by the type of duty rate

• Specific rate: This rate charges a fixed amount per unit of quantity—for instance, ฿10 per kilogram or ฿5 per liter. Authorities apply it to inventory measured by quantity, e.g., sugar or alcoholic beverages.
  
• Ad valorem rate: This is a charge calculated as a percentage of the value of the goods, or CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight). For example, imposing an import tax of 30% of the worth of the products. The ad valorem rate is the most commonly used approach for import duties.
  
• Compound rate: An import duty rate that combines specific fees and percentages, e.g., a particular rate of ฿50 per kilogram, or an import tax of 20% of the worth of the goods, whichever amount is higher.
  

Criterion 2: Consideration based on product type or trade agreement

Beyond the duty type, authorities also set rates based on the kind of goods and their HS code. Moreover, import duties depend on the category of items, the country of origin, and an FTA between those territories. The fees can be mainly categorized into four types as follows:

• General duty rates: General goods brought in from countries that do not have special commerce agreements with Thailand are subject to duty rates according to the HS code, ranging from 0% to 80%, depending on the type of inventory, such as 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, or higher. The HS code is a global classification system used to segment products in order to determine assessments and identify the trade measures applicable to those goods.
  
• Special duty rates under FTA: Shipments brought in from countries or groups of regions under an FTA might be eligible for special rates of 0% or reduced fees, such as for ASEAN nations, including Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and others. Businesses must check whether the imported goods are eligible for fiscal privileges per trade agreements and comply with the specified conditions, such as presenting valid proof of origin.
  
• Luxury goods: The import duty rate for luxury goods is usually higher than that for general items to control consumption and increase fiscal revenue. This charge for luxury goods ranges from approximately 30% to 80%, depending on the type of product, and can also be subject to additional value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax. Examples include alcoholic beverages, imported cars, or branded handbags.
  
• Duty-exempt goods: Certain types of inventory are import duty-exempt from tax benefits as they are deemed important for national development or have special purposes, such as:
  
  • Imported raw materials for export, whether exported in their original state or after processing.
    
  • Raw materials for production approved by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), such as plastic pellets or steel, in cases where the operator receives investment promotion from the BOI by exercising rights under Section 36.
    
  • Tools and equipment for educational purposes, such as microscopes or scientific experimental instruments for use solely in academic institutions, could be entitled under Section 12.
    
  • Medical equipment for disease treatment, such as X-ray machines or ventilators, for public benefit or nonprofit healthcare facilities.
    

How to calculate import duty

Officials calculate import duties using the following variables and methods:

Import Duty = Total CIF Value x Import Duty Rate

Total CIF Value = Cost of Goods + Insurance + Freight

• Total CIF value: The cost of goods, insurance, and shipping.
  
• Import duty rate: Import duties depend on the type of items, such as raw materials, machinery, food, or retail products, and some types of goods are eligible for preferential tax reductions through FTAs. These rates do not include VAT or other levies.
  

Entrepreneurs need to understand the classification of the shipments they bring in and regularly check import duty rates, available on the Customs Department website or via the HS CHECK application.

How to calculate import duty

How to calculate the total CIF value

CIF of Red Wine = ฿20,000 + ฿2,000 + ฿500 = ฿22,500

How to calculate import duty

Import Duty on Red Wine = ฿22,500 × 0.54 (or 54%) = ฿12,150

Other taxes related to import duties

When shipments arrive from overseas, the recipient pays import levies, including duties, which form part of the total charges.

Import Tax = Customs Duty + VAT

In addition to customs tariffs and VAT, importers also need to consider the following:

• Excise tax: Applied to luxury goods such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco, perfumes, cars, certain electrical appliances, etc.
  
• Local tax: It usually has a rate of 3% of the excise tax and is applied exclusively in situations where the excise tax is collected.
  

The latest policy on import duties

Beginning January 1, 2026, import duties and VAT apply to all inbound shipments valued at ฿1 or more. Previously, goods worth less than ฿1,500 were exempt. Therefore, every online product ordered from abroad will be subject to these border charges and VAT from the very first item purchased.

The main goal of amending this law is to create fair trade conditions for Thai entrepreneurs who already pay import duties and VAT, while generating further tax revenue for the state, which could increase by several billion baht per year.

Choosing a tax solution for international trade

Choosing a tax solution for international trade requires weighing several factors, including the following:

Report tax information accurately

A good fiscal solution can ensure that document preparation and customs tax reporting are accurate and precise. Integration with platforms such as Stripe Tax and Stripe Checkout enables the automatic calculation and collection of taxes for cross-border transactions, making it convenient and quick to gather and report levy information through electronic infrastructures. This creates transparency and reduces the occurrence of disputes.

Straightforward connection to payment systems

The ability to connect smoothly with payment systems—such as integrating Stripe Tax with Stripe Payments—enables real-time collection of payment and levy records. As a result, tax information can be submitted to customs quickly and conveniently, reducing processing time and minimizing errors caused by duplicate transaction entries.

Supports multiple currencies

A good compliance tool needs to support currency conversion between foreign denominations and Thai baht. Choose a framework that can handle multiple monetary units, such as Stripe, which supports more than 135 currencies worldwide, automatically converts exchange rates, collects payments, and updates prices in real time, reducing the risk of currency fluctuations.

Can check historical data

The ability to audit information retrospectively (audit trail), including login history, data modifications, and updates. Using a setup that can store, audit historical records, and generate detailed, complete tax and tariff reports in real time, such as import duty reports broken down by origin and product, which helps with cost planning and expense management and reduces the risk of inspections or delays in releasing inventory.

Choose a safe and reliable system

The system must maintain usage logs, manage access to records with passkeys, support file access via encryption, and verify the integrity of file entries. This helps enterprises ensure they can audit details retrospectively in case of disputes.

Expertise in taxation

A good fiscal solution needs to have expertise in the Thai tax regime, covering the structure of customs tariffs, import duty rates, domestic industry protection measures, and privileges through FTAs or other exceptional situations that could qualify for exemptions. Additionally, it must understand import restriction laws and prohibited goods, and be able to guide cases where specific documentation is required, as well as accurately assess the risk of overpayment or underpayment of levies.

How Stripe Tax can help

Stripe Tax reduces the complexity of tax compliance so you can focus on growing your business. Start collecting taxes globally by adding a single line of code to your existing integration, clicking a button in the Dashboard, or using our powerful API.

Stripe Tax helps you monitor your obligations and alerts you when you exceed a sales tax registration threshold based on your Stripe transactions. It can also register to collect tax on your behalf in the US and manage filings through trusted partners. Stripe Tax automatically calculates and collects sales tax, VAT, and GST on:

• Digital goods and services in all US states and over 100 countries
  
• Physical goods in all US states and 42 countries
  

Stripe Tax can help you:

• Understand where to register and collect taxes: See where you need to collect taxes based on your Stripe transactions. After you register, switch on tax collection in a new state or country in seconds. You can start collecting taxes by adding one line of code to your existing Stripe integration, or add tax collection with the click of a button in the Stripe Dashboard.

• Register to pay tax: If you need to register for a sales tax in the US, let Stripe manage your tax registrations. You’ll benefit from a simplified process that prefills application details—saving you time and simplifying compliance with local regulations. If you need help registering outside of the US, Stripe partners with Taxually to help you register with local tax authorities.

• Automatically collect tax: Stripe Tax calculates and collects the right amount of tax owed, no matter what or where you sell. It supports hundreds of products and services and is up-to-date on tax rules and rate changes.

• Simplify filing: Stripe Tax seamlessly integrates with filing partners, so your global filings are accurate and timely. Let our partners manage your filings so you can focus on growing your business.

Learn more about Stripe Tax, or get started today.