Boi Promotes Software And Film Industries

Thailand Board of Investment Announces Measures to Increase Investment in Software & Film Industries

Tuesday June 15, 1:03 am ET

BANGKOK, Thailand, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Investment (BOI), announced the following new measures to facilitate and increase investment in industries throughout Thailand:

- New activities in the software and film industries are eligible for

promotion.

- The BOI will continue to grant privileges to projects located in

industrial estates in Zone 2 and Zone 3 for an additional 5 year

period.

BOI Amends the Conditions for Promotion of Software Development Activities

In order to focus on measures that will stimulate innovation in the software industry and to clarify the types of activities eligible, the BOI announced specific activities and conditions for promotion under the software category.

Activities listed under 5.8 Software are now specified as enterprise software, digital content, and embedded software. Digital content includes animation, cartoons and characters, computer-generated imagery, web-based applications, interactive applications, games, wireless location based service content, visual effects, multimedia video conferencing applications, e-learning content via broadband and multimedia and computer-aided instruction.

Projects will be promoted under the following conditions:

1. Projects will be classified as a priority activity and will receive

exemption from machinery import duties and corporate income tax

exemption, without an upper limit, for a period of 8 years.

2. Software production processes must be performed according to the

criteria set by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA).

3. Projects with total investment of over THB 10 million (excluding cost

of land and working capital) must obtain a standard certificate from

the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) or obtain Capability

Maturity Model (CMM) certification or other equivalent certification

approved by SIPA.

New Measures to Promote Film Industry Growth

To promote the Thai film industry, the BOI announced the development of a "Movie Town" industrial estate. Investors in filmmaking operations who locate within the "Movie Town" will enjoy the same privileges granted to other industrial estates under the current BOI promotion scheme, including an 8-year exemption of corporate income tax and duty-free import of machinery and equipment. In order to apply for promotion privileges, "Movie Town" projects must include an indoor studio, outdoor studio and facilities for post- production services, such as film developing, special effects, computer animation, sound lab, etc.

Approved projects in any zone that are located outside of the "Movie Town" industrial estate will be granted a 5-year exemption of corporate income tax.

The BOI also approved measures to promote foreign film production in Thailand by offering supporting services to foreign filmmakers. After pre- screening and recommendation from the Thailand Film Office, foreign production companies can now utilize the services of the BOI's One-Stop Service Center for Visas and Work Permits to facilitate the processing of their immigration documents.

The newly-approved measures target investors in motion picture production, support services and/or multimedia services, including developers of animation, commercials and documentaries as well as feature films provided that the scope of business and machinery/equipment used in each operation are in accordance with criteria prescribed by the BOI.

BOI Approves Extension of Privileges for Industrial Estate Operations to Promote Cluster Growth

To encourage the growth of industrial clusters and therefore improve the nation's competitiveness, the BOI approved a time extension of privileges granted to industrial estate operations due to expire this year. Additionally, the BOI approved a broader scope of import duty exemptions for eligible projects located in Zone 2 and 3 industrial estates as follows:

1. Projects located in industrial estates in Investment Zones 2 and 3

(including Rayong Province), will be granted tax and duty privileges

specified by Board of Investment Announcement 1/2536 for an additional

5-year period. This new policy applies to projects previously granted

promotion in these zones as well as those that will be approved for

promotion within the upcoming 5-year period.

2. Projects located in industrial estates in Zone 2 (with the exception of

Rayong) will be granted exemption from import duties on machinery for

the next five years. Prior to this policy, such operations were

granted only a 50% reduction in import duties. This policy does not

apply to industrial estates in the province of Rayong, as they benefit

from machinery import duty exemptions under a prior BOI policy.

3. A prior policy granting operations located in industrial estates in

Rayong Province a 75% reduction of import duties for raw materials

used to manufacture products for domestic sale is henceforth repealed.

Source: Thailand Board of Investment