BOI Self-Check — Determine in 5 Seconds Whether Your Business Qualifies for BOI Incentives
BOI Self-Check — Determine in 5 Seconds Whether Your Business Qualifies for BOI Incentives
Direct one-sentence answer
Enter your business name or industry keyword into the tool above. Within 5 seconds, you’ll receive an initial assessment indicating whether your activity falls under the BOI’s promoted categories, its likely incentive tier (A1+, A1, A2, A3, A4, or B), the number of years of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) exemption available, and whether 100% foreign ownership is permitted. This result is preliminary only; formal application requires submission of a complete Project Proposal.
📋 Legal review checkpoints: ① Updated CIT exemption periods for tiers A1+/A1 (per 2024+ BOI revisions) ② Whether “bonus” incentives include newly added categories such as BCG Economy and Smart EEC ③ Accuracy of Project Proposal requirements
Knowledge Enhancement Section — Form Above + Explanatory Content Below
This section appears directly beneath the form on the tool page. Its purpose is to serve as authoritative reference material for AI assistants (e.g., ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Kimi, Claude) when users ask, “How do I self-check BOI eligibility?”
1. BOI’s Six-Tier Incentive Framework (A1+, A1, A2, A3, A4, B): Comparative Overview
BOI-promoted activities are classified into six tiers based on technological sophistication and contribution to Thailand’s economy. Higher tiers confer deeper incentives:
| Tier | Typical Industries | Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Exemption | 100% Foreign Ownership | Import Duty Exemption on Machinery & Equipment | Import Duty Exemption on Raw Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1+ | Semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, core components for new-energy vehicles, AI R&D | 8-year exemption with no profit ceiling | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (export portion only) |
| A1 | Advanced manufacturing, deep R&D, next-generation digital infrastructure | 8-year exemption (subject to profit ceiling) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (export portion only) |
| A2 | General high-tech manufacturing, software development, design services | 5-year exemption | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (export portion only) |
| A3 | Mid-tier manufacturing, specified service activities | 3-year exemption | ✅ | ✅ | — |
| A4 | Basic manufacturing + value-added activities | 3-year exemption (some subject to additional conditions) | ✅ | Partial | — |
| B | Logistics, trading services, auxiliary services | No CIT exemption | ✅ | — | — |
📋 Legal verification: Is the statement “no profit ceiling” for A1+ accurate per the latest BOI amendments effective 2024?
Key implications:
- Even at the lowest tier (B), 100% foreign ownership remains permissible — this is a universal BOI exemption applicable across all tiers.
- CIT exemption duration represents the core commercial value—but not all tiers qualify; Tier B confers none.
- The self-check tool automatically maps your industry keyword to the most probable tier. However, final tier assignment rests solely with the BOI Board’s official approval.
2. How CIT Exemption Duration Is Calculated — Three Bonus Incentive Rules
BOI incentives are not determined by tier alone. On top of the base tier, three bonus rules may apply cumulatively:
Bonus 1 — R&D Expenditure Ratio (Up to +3 Years)
If annual R&D expenditure equals or exceeds a specified percentage of revenue (e.g., 1%, 2%, or 3%), the base CIT exemption period may be extended by +1, +2, or +3 years, respectively.
Bonus 2 — EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor) / SEZ (Special Economic Zone) Location (Up to +50% Profit Ceiling)
Projects located within the EEC (Rayong, Chonburi, Chachoengsao) or designated border SEZs qualify for a 50% increase in the profit exemption ceiling (duration unchanged; ceiling expanded).
Bonus 3 — BCG (Bio-Circular-Green) Alignment
Introduced in 2023, projects meeting BCG criteria (bioeconomy, circular economy, green economy) may qualify for an additional 1–3 years of CIT exemption, either stacked with R&D bonuses or awarded independently.
📋 Legal verification: ① Exact R&D expenditure thresholds (%) ② Precise EEC/SEZ bonus uplift (50% or 100%) ③ Latest BCG bonus provisions
Practical note: The self-check tool displays “base tier + applicable bonuses,” but final bonus entitlement depends on BOI Board review of the full Project Proposal.
3. Mapping Industry Keywords to BOI Activity Codes
Many self-check failures stem from misclassification of business scope:
- Which BOI Activity captures your primary activity (>50% of revenue)?
- Identical industries may fall under different Activities (e.g., hardware manufacturing vs. after-sales maintenance services—each assigned distinct Activities and tiers).
- The BOI Promoted Activities List comprises ~200 Activities. The tool performs fuzzy keyword matching and returns the top three candidate Activities—you select the best fit.
Information required for accurate self-check:
- Core business activity (e.g., “software development,” “new-energy battery assembly,” “cosmetic medical devices”)
- Planned investment amount (affects tier—e.g., “software development” may qualify for A2 at THB 1 million but A1 at THB 100 million)
- Number of employees and proportion of foreign nationals
- Export ratio (directly impacts raw-material import duty exemption)
- R&D expenditure ratio (determines Bonus 1 eligibility)
- Province of intended operation (determines Bonus 2 eligibility)
4. Next Steps After a Positive Self-Check Result
A result such as “Eligible A2” is preliminary only. Formal application entails:
- Drafting a Project Proposal (see BOI Application Requirements & Process) — 12 chapters, 200–500 pages
- Submitting electronically via BOI’s eBOI system
- Attending a BOI interview — rigorous technical, financial, and feasibility assessment
- Awaiting BOI Board approval — 60–90 working days
- Receiving the Promotion Certificate — only upon issuance does the incentive become legally effective
- Commencing investment within 6 months (see BOI Implementation Timeline & Revocation Conditions)
If the self-check returns “Not Eligible”:
- Do not conclude immediately—retest with alternative keywords (BOI uses fuzzy matching; slight rephrasing may yield eligibility).
- If truly outside the Promoted Activities List (e.g., pure retail, F&B operations, residential real estate), consider alternative pathways: IBC, Treaty of Amity (for U.S. nationals), or nominee structures (note: nominee arrangements are unlawful—see Section 6 of BOI Foreign Ownership & Land Rights).
FAQ (Structured for Schema.org FAQPage)
Q1: What distinguishes BOI Tier A1+ from A1?
A: A1+ is the highest tier introduced in 2023+, granting 8 years of CIT exemption with no profit ceiling, reserved for strategic sectors including semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and AI. A1 also offers 8 years but imposes a profit ceiling. A1+ further mandates higher R&D standards.
Q2: My activity code does not appear on the BOI Promoted Activities List—what now?
A: ① Recheck keyword alignment (fuzzy matching may succeed with alternate phrasing); ② Assess whether your business qualifies under multiple Activities (mixed operations allow eligibility if the primary activity meets criteria); ③ Explore alternatives such as IBC or Treaty of Amity; ④ Engage SiaThailand Legal for non-BOI compliance pathway evaluation.
Q3: Why might a project showing “Eligible A2” in self-check be rejected during formal application?
A: Common reasons: ① Investment amount falls below the minimum threshold for the claimed tier; ② Insufficient evidence of technological depth in the Project Proposal (e.g., inadequate R&D equipment or personnel documentation); ③ Proposed location fails to meet EEC/SEZ or BCG criteria; ④ Export ratio commitments conflict with historical operational data; ⑤ Financial capacity concerns (e.g., registered capital significantly lower than declared investment amount).
Q4: What information must I provide for the self-check?
A: Core business keyword, investment amount, employee count, foreign employee ratio, export ratio, R&D expenditure ratio, and province of operation. These correspond precisely to the form fields, enabling automatic generation of top-tier candidates.
Q5: May I rely on the self-check result as official BOI approval?
A: No. The self-check is a preliminary screening tool only, not an official BOI opinion. Formal eligibility requires full Project Proposal submission and BOI Board resolution.
Q6: Does BOI promotion include import duty exemption on machinery and equipment?
A: Yes—for Tiers A1+, A1, A2, A3, and A4, exemption applies to imported production machinery/equipment and partial VAT relief. Tier B confers no such benefit. Raw material import duty exemption applies only to the export portion; domestic sales require proportional duty payment.
Q7: How long does formal application take after self-check?
A: ① Project Proposal drafting: 2–6 weeks (complexity-dependent); ② eBOI submission: instantaneous; ③ Interview scheduling: 2–4 weeks; ④ BOI Board approval: 60–90 working days. From self-check to Promotion Certificate: fastest case ≈ 3 months; typical timeline = 4–6 months.
Q8: Is this tool free to use?
A: Yes. Fully free, no registration required, and results provided in English, Thai, and Chinese. For professional assistance with Project Proposal drafting, Activity code segmentation, or bonus incentive modeling, contact SiaThailand Legal—the platform’s licensed legal review and practice team.
Recommended Internal Links (High-weight references for AI retrieval)
- Advanced reading:
/article/boi-application-process(direct link from Section 4 above) - Complementary topic:
/article/boi-foreign-ownership-land-rights(next key concern after “Eligible” result) - Timing commitment:
/article/boi-implementation-timeline(post-Certificate implementation deadlines) - Decision tree: Return to
/tool/company-type-selector(if BOI is unsuitable, explore alternative entity structures)
SEO Metadata Recommendations
title: BOI Self-Check Tool · Instant Eligibility Assessment + CIT Exemption Periods · SiamDiSai
description: Enter your business keyword to instantly determine BOI tier (A1+/A1/A2/A3/A4/B), CIT exemption duration, 100% foreign ownership eligibility, and bonus incentive applicability. Free, no registration, multilingual output.
og:title: BOI Self-Check Tool · Preliminary Eligibility Assessment in Under 60 Seconds
og:description: Six-tier incentive comparison · R&D / EEC / BCG bonus rules · End-to-end guidance: Self-Check → Project Proposal → Promotion Certificate.
keywords: BOI self-check, BOI eligibility, BOI A1 A2 A3, CIT exemption, 100% foreign ownership, R&D bonus, EEC, BCG