International Affairs Resources for Thailand

• Labeling Requirements
• Required Documents and Licensing
• Import Procedures
• Taxes/Tariffs
• Contacts

LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Please note that all the information below may be in English, except for the warning statement, which must be in Thai.

• Brand Name
• Alcoholic strength (% v/v)
• Quantity (volume)
• Name and address of winery, factory, or importer
• Symbol of product registration (when applicable)
• Warning statement: (“Warning: Sale of Liquor to persons younger than 20 years of age is prohibited; “Drinking liquor will decrease ability to drive a vehicle”; “Person younger than 20 years of age should not drink“ using dark bold alphabets of not smaller than 5 millimeters height clearly readable text in a separated box contrasting with the background color of the label)
• Best-before date (Display date/month and year when shelf life of such food is shorter than 90 days, or display month and year when shelf life of such food is longer than 90 days, by appeared together with “should consume by” or “Expiration Date”).

Allergen and gluten labeling:

The following text must be displayed if food ingredient(s) contain known allergens: “Information for food allergy: contain…”. In the case of potential contamination with known allergens the following text may be displayed “Information for food allergy: may contain…”  Alternatively, the allergen information may be displayed as “Contain…” or “May contain…” in a frame. Color of letter shall be in contrast with the background color of the frame and the color frame shall be in contrast with the background color of the label. The following products or ingredients are considered allergenic: cereals containing gluten, i.e. wheat, rye, barley, oat, spelt, or their hybridized strains; crustacea i.e. crab, shrimp, mantis shrimp, lobster; eggs; fish; peanut; soybean; milk and dairy products; tree nuts; and sulfite at concentrations above 10mg/kg. For additional labeling requirements please see Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 367) B.E. 2557 on Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (2017 Update). Products made from gluten containing grains but through the removal process containing less than 20 ppm gluten may use “No gluten” or “gluten free” only in combination with the following statements - "through the gluten removal process" or "being specially processed to remove gluten".

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) labeling:

GMO labeling is required for packaged food products containing any GM ingredients over five percent of total weight with detectable recombinant DNA or protein resulting from biotechnology. However, packaged food products that contain GM plants and animal food ingredients that intentionally contain less than five percent must also be labeled according to this notification. Single GM ingredient products must have “from GM organisms” after the food product's name. Food products that contain multiple GM ingredients must have “from GM organisms” after any ingredients derived from GM plants, animals, or microorganisms. The text must be bold and in a color that contrasts with the background and has a size that is proportional to the label space. Product labeling by the producer/importer is mandatory. For further information please refer to the Ministerial Notification No. 432 (in Thai) on Labeling for Food Derived from GM Organisms (available in Thai).

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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND LICENSING

• Import license (from Excise Department)
• Commercial invoice
• Certificate of Origin
• Bill of Lading
• Invoice
• Export Packing List (if any)
• Air Waybill
• Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) – i.e. a statement which verifies that the food product has been manufactured by an approved U.S. processing plant.  (Thailand also accepts a Certificate of Free Sale and Sanitation from those exporting from the U.S.)

In addition, importers are required to obtain licenses issued by the Excise Department (Ministry of Finance) if they plan to transport more than ten liters of alcohol and/or sell the alcohol.   

Testing Requirements for Alcohol Beverages:

The Thai Excise Department (TED) officially approved the use of the APEC Model Wine Export Certificate for U.S. wine exports and the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau’s (TTB) Certificate of Sanitation for U.S. beer and distilled spirits exports to Thailand, with specific attestations, on August 13, 2021. U.S. alcoholic beverage exports, accompanied with these certificates issued by TTB, will require no additional testing or certificate of analysis. The import permits obtained from these approved certificates are valid for three years. The exporter must obtain a new export certificate to renew the import permit after three years. The sample of certificates for wine, beer, and distilled spirits are available on TTB’s website: TTBGov - Export Documents/Certificates. For more information on these requirements, please see GAIN report no.TH9080 and GAIN Report no TH2021-0059.

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IMPORT PROCEDURES

Imported goods may not legally enter Thailand until the shipment has arrived at the specified port of entry and delivery of the merchandise has been authorized by the Thai Customs Department. This is normally accomplished by filing out the appropriate documents, either by the importer or by a designated agent through the electronic customs system (e-Customs), which is the comprehensive system developed by Thai Customs Department to facilitate and process all commercial goods imported into Thailand.

The Customs Department does not notify the importer of the arrival of a shipment. Notification is usually made by the carrier of the goods. The importer should make their own arrangements to be sure that they or their agent will be informed immediately of the arrival of shipment so that the documentation for entry can be filed and delays are avoided.

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TAXES/TARIFFS

Starting on February 23, 2024, U.S. wines can enter the Thai market duty-free and with lower excise taxes. It is estimated that this tariff/tax restructuring will reduce the retail price of U.S. wine by 35-40 percent. Please, see this FAS GAIN report for more information.

Payment of duties and taxes can be made at the Customs Department stationed at the port of entry or via the e-Payment section of the e-Customs system. The documents must be taken to the warehouse and presented to an inspector who will make a report on the entry form. Excise stamps are used to indicate that the excise duties on alcohol products have been paid.

For the most current tariffs and taxes applied to imported products for this country, please visit WTO’s Tariff Download Facility.  Please ensure you have a 10-digit HS classification code in order to obtain tariff information.  Also see the Census Bureau’s Schedule B search function, which allows you to classify your product according to United States export codes. Simply click "Search" and enter the keyword (i.e. beer) that best describes your product.

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CONTACTS

The information in this guide was obtained from external sources, including the websites of various governmental agencies and organizations, direct contact with those agencies and organizations, and from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Attaché reports.  Consequently, the accuracy of this information depends upon the accuracy of the sources.

TTB is not responsible for the content of external websites.

This page was last reviewed on May 13, 2024

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