th.bev-cuvee.org · AS OF 2026-11-10

Thailand

The business-to-business (B2B) hub for beverage alcohol: the trade rulebook for beverage alcohol, country by country, each section with its official sources.

The Library door agent-bev.ai Buyers' door bevgtin.ai Hub node · th-bev.ai

As of 2026-11-10

Market status

Licensed. Beverage alcohol trade is a licensed channel. Alcoholic drinks above the Excise Act liquor threshold are controlled through excise registration, excise import or sale licences, customs formalities, Food and Drug Administration food-import permission and alcohol-control sale restrictions. This classification reflects the licensing and permission framework described below.

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Who can trade

Import: Operators using electronic customs formalities register with Thai Customs as importers/exporters. A food importer must hold a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licence to import or order food into Thailand, have a commercial registration certificate and a place of business in Thailand. Alcohol also needs excise permission to import liquor. For import for sale outside a duty-free shop, the applicant route described by the Excise Department requires a Type 1 liquor-sale licence and appointment as the exclusive seller in Thailand for the imported liquor.

Wholesale and distribution: Liquor sale licences are split into Type 1, for sales of all kinds of liquor in quantities of 10 litres or more per transaction, and Type 2, for quantities below 10 litres. The licence is premises-specific and normally has a one-year term. Sale premises must avoid prohibited locations under the alcohol-control rules.

Business-to-business (B2B) online sale: The official electronic-sale notice prohibits electronic sale or related sale services directly to consumers where seller and consumer do not meet, with an exception for electronic purchase and payment at shops, restaurants or alcohol-service premises. Wholesale-only B2B electronic ordering and independent platform treatment: Not yet sourced.

Additional municipal or zoning premises permissions: Not yet sourced.

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Customs and duty

Tariff headings: Beer: 2203. Beer made from malt. Wine: 2204. Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wine and certain grape must. Cider: 2206. Other fermented beverages, including cider, perry and mead; qualifying mixtures. Spirits: 2208. Undenatured ethyl alcohol below 80% alcohol by volume; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages.

Import duty: Thailand uses the customs tariff and the Thai Customs Customs Tariff service, including the Integrated Tariff Database and import-duty reference files. Treatment depends on the full Thai tariff line, customs value, origin, preference, quota or other measure, and any required permit. A four-digit heading does not establish the duty payable. Exact customs duty for a specified product and origin: Not yet sourced.

Excise: Liquor is divided into fermented liquor and distilled liquor. Beer, wine and sparkling wine made from grapes, fruit fermented liquor and other fermented liquor sit within the fermented-liquor structure; white spirit and other distilled liquor sit within the distilled-liquor structure. The excise tariff uses value-based and quantity-based elements, with quantity stated by reference to litres of pure alcohol for liquor categories. Importers and manufacturers notify the value base required by the Excise Act. For imports, excise is paid with the customs entry unless a bonded or free-zone route defers the liability.

Territorial treatment: No separate provincial customs territory has been sourced. Thai Customs free zones are designated customs-benefit areas for industrial, commercial or other approved activities; qualifying goods imported into a free zone may receive import-duty exemption, while release to domestic consumption changes the treatment. Other local border taxes or charges: Not yet sourced.

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Labelling

Required language(s): The statutory liquor warning must be in Thai. For imported liquor labels, the Excise Department guidance says label text must be clearly printed in Thai and/or English, or another permitted language.

Mandatory warnings: Liquor labels must carry the Thai warning that sale to persons under 20 is prohibited, that drinking liquor reduces driving ability, and that persons under 20 should not drink. The warning has prescribed presentation features, including a separate box, contrasting colours and minimum character height. Stated exceptions include samples, non-sale imports, export-only products and certain diplomatic or treaty-privileged liquor.

Alcohol strength: Imported liquor labels must show alcohol strength by degree or percentage by volume, net volume and the liquor name.

Allergens: Not yet sourced.

Origin and responsible operator: Imported liquor labels must show the name and premises of the Type 1 liquor-sale licensee and the name and address of the foreign producer. Independent country-of-origin wording: Not yet sourced.

Wine particulars: The import-label guidance treats vintage as part of the approved label details; if the approved label has no change in form, details or vintage, it may continue without a new label request. Other wine-specific label particulars: Not yet sourced.

Label registration and product permission: Liquor imported for sale must obtain Excise Department label approval in advance and use the approved label before import. The import-permission route also requires a sample for analysis or an accepted analysis certificate. FDA food-product approval and a food serial number apply where the FDA food category requires them.

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Age and sale limits

Legal purchase age: Sale is prohibited to persons under 20 and to intoxicated persons. Where age is in doubt, the seller must request a national identification card or other government-issued evidence showing age.

Sale-hour and channel limits: The published national sale-hour notice allows sale only from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 24:00. Exceptions listed in that notice cover passenger-service buildings at international-flight airports, service establishments within their lawful opening hours and hotels. Under the amended Act, day or hour restrictions do not apply to sales by a producer, importer or their agent to a seller licensed under liquor law.

Prohibited places: Alcohol sale is prohibited in temples and worship places, state health-service units, hospitals and pharmacies, specified government offices, dormitories, educational institutions, fuel stations and shops in them, government public parks and other places designated by the Control Committee.

Regional layers: Bangkok and provincial alcohol-control committees exist in the statute, and a 2026 Department of Disease Control notice concerns guidelines for designating prohibited sale places or areas near educational institutions. Detailed provincial or local sale-hour and place restrictions beyond national law and that 2026 guidance: Not yet sourced.

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Protected names

Protection framework: Thailand protects geographical indications under the Geographical Indications Protection Act B.E. 2546 (2003). Registration, the registered product description and the applicable specification determine the protected name’s scope.

Verified wine names: Champagne, Brunello Di Montalcino, Phurua Plateau Wine and Khao Yai Wine are identified in official Department of Intellectual Property materials as geographical indications. These examples are not exhaustive.

Verified spirit names: Pisco, Cognac and Scotch Whisky are identified in official Department of Intellectual Property materials as geographical indications. These examples are not exhaustive.

Verified beer geographical indications or protected beer names: Not yet sourced.

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GTIN authority

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) member organisation: GS1 Thailand. The Federation of Thai Industries is the GS1 member in Thailand and has established GS1 Thailand to administer the GS1 system and issue GS1 identifiers to licensees.

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Not yet sourced

Wholesale-only B2B electronic ordering and independent platform treatment; additional municipal or zoning premises permissions; exact customs duty for a specified product and origin; other local border taxes or charges; allergen declaration for alcoholic beverages; independent country-of-origin wording; other wine-specific label particulars; detailed provincial or local sale-hour and place restrictions beyond national law and 2026 education-area guidance; verified beer geographical indications or protected beer names: Not yet sourced.

Library catalogue: bev-cuvee.org · this page as data: mcp.bev-cuvee.org/mcp (get_rulebook, code th)

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