Withholding Tax on E-Commerce

The Revenue Department issued a draft bill which would, if enacted, levy withholding tax for online trading of goods and service as well as money-transfer service. The law is intended to take effect within the current military-led regime’s tenure.

Currently, e-commerce operators that sell goods and service by an online system are required to pay tax just in the same way as all other operators in Thailand. However, enforcement of such tax laws is challenging for government authorities in the globalized internet business world and internet operators are often invisible for the tax authorities.

Under the prospective new law, operators outside of Thailand who conduct transactions for sale and purchase of goods in Thailand or money-transfer service for consumers in Thailand, will be required to pay withholding tax (among other kinds of taxes).

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