On 16 June 2020, the Government issued a new regulation titled "The Royal Thai Police Notification on Residence of Heads of Household, House Owners, Landlords, or Managers of Hotels, Who Accommodate Foreign Nationals on a Temporary Basis" ("Regulation") which came into force on 30 June 2020. The Regulation simplifies the duty of the head of a household, property owner, landlord, or hotel manager ("Operator") to notify the immigration office when there are foreign nationals staying at their premises (by using the T.M. 30 form).
Prior to the enactment of the Regulation, an Operator was required to submit the T.M. 30 form every time a foreigner stays or returns to stay at its premises even after a short trip to another place in Thailand. Under the Regulation, Operators are required to submit the T.M. 30 form with information on the total period of a foreigner's stay. If, within that period, the foreigner in question travels to or stays over at another place but eventually returns to the premises within the said period, the Operator would not be required to resubmit the T.M. 30 form.
In terms of submitting the T.M. 30 form, in addition to physical submission at the local immigration office where the premises are located, or the Immigration Office Headquarters, an Operator would also be able to submit the T.M. 30 form online at www.immigration.go.th, or via the Section 38 mobile application (downloadable for Android and iOS).
On 9 June 2020, the draft amendment to the Thai Revenue Code on the issue of collecting value-added tax ("VAT") on foreign electronic services and electronic platform providers ("Draft Amendment") was approved by the Thai cabinet. The Draft Amendment requires that foreign entities receiving revenue from operating electronic services and platforms exceeding THB 1.8 million per year to register as a VAT registrant and pay VAT to the Thai Revenue Department. The Draft Amendment is due to be presented to the House of Representatives for consideration.
On 3 June 2020, Thailand signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters ("MAC") and became its 137th signatory state. The MAC aims to counter international tax evasion and provides for mutual assistance between parties in tax matters, including exchange of information, simultaneous tax examination, and assistance in tax collection. It is understood that the Revenue Department is in the process of presenting the signed MAC to the Parliament for consideration.
On 29 May 2020, the Government published two notifications setting out the criteria for the classification of the utilisation of land and buildings as residential or agricultural, for the purposes of determining tax rates under the Land and Building Tax Act 2019 ("Land and Building Tax Act"). The notifications are (i) Notification of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Interior Re: Criteria for the Utilization of Residential Property 2020 ("Residential Property Notification"), and (ii) Notification of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Interior Re: Criteria for the Utilization of Agricultural Property 2020 ("Agricultural Property Notification").
The Residential Property Notification provides that the utilisation of residential property under the Land and Building Tax Act refers to the use of land or buildings and the adjacent areas for residential purposes, including their use during the period of construction or alteration of the property. There are certain exceptions, which are: (i) land or buildings which are under development or are completed but are not yet sold under the Land Development Act B.E. 2543 (2000) and the Condominium Act B.E. 2551 (2008); (ii) hotels under the Hotel Act B.E. 2547 (2004); (iii) land or buildings provided for temporary accommodation, excluding homestay, or where remuneration for accommodation is paid monthly; and (iv) immovable property awaiting sale by certain types of financial institutions under relevant laws.
The Agricultural Property Notification provides that the utilisation of land or buildings for agriculture refers to the use of land or buildings and the adjacent areas for agriculture operations for the purpose of exploitation, distribution or use in farms, including during the periods where the land or buildings are left fallow, breaks during the production season, and breaks in the chain of infection, but excluding fishery or weaving. The adjacent areas of such land and buildings must not exceed half of the total area of the agriculture operations, excluding aquaculture. The Agricultural Property Notification has also set out minimum rates for an agricultural operation, stall or house area, land utilisation rate, and utilisation characteristics for certain types of agricultural operation specified in the lists attached to the Agricultural Property Notification.
