Anyone selling alcohol in Thailand needs a license to do so, we know this. These days anyone using a business that sells alcohol to get a visa or work permit is going to need to know the rules and regulations intimately since the powers that be seem to be trying even harder than usual to keep Johnny Foreigner out of the land of smiles.

An alcohol license (along with cigarette licences if you are interested) can be applied for at the Provincial Area Excise Office. This is going to be a bland looking building somewhere in the provincial administration district with little or no English language signage.

A license can be acquired in an individual (Thai) name or a company name, the former will always be easier. It's best to make sure the Thai name is someone named as a director of your company if you are worried about ramifications.

Your going to need to show ID and housing registration for the individual named, a business registration for the location, these days you'll probably be asked for a DBD (Department of Business Development) registration as well, and you'll need to show a lease or proof of ownership for the location too.

Be warned, they now are demanding that any lease you show is the original, not a copy, and you get it stamped with tax stamps at your local Amphoe level administration building. They put stamps on it that look a lot like postage stamps. Used to be that this was easy, but now they will record your details and use them to calculate how much land tax will be due for the location, depending on the rent this could be A LOT OF MONEY, and since most landlords (illegally) require the tenant to pay that tax it is common practice to sign a second lease document for a dramatically lower rent level to show at government offices like these.

When the application is submitted at the excise office there will be a single sheet form to fill in (in Thai) and a fee of 1100 Baht to be paid in cash. If everything is in order you should walk out with your new license in about 10 minutes.

All licenses are dated from the 1st of January until the 31st of December and all cost the same even if it's only going to be for a few months.

Licenses to sell cigarettes can be applied for in exactly the same way, at the same time (one set of documents is enough). Cigarette licenses are separated into "Domestic" and "International" and cost 40 Baht each.

Alcohol licenses are also separated into categories. Most bars and restaurant will want a category 3 license to sell alcohol. I think this is for the alcohol to be consumed on the premises, if you are planning to sell bottles to take away I think you need a category 1 AS WELL. Maybe someone can clarify this for me?

I hope this has been informative.

Good luck.

_{And a Visa ?}

More business related than visas or work permits. Moved to the business forum.

Does the business owner have to be the licencee?

Makes sense the licencee should know the law, but could this be a employee?

The name on the license can be anyone.

Although I put the address down, in 10 years, no lease agreement was ever asked for.

If the person on the license left, I never even bothered to change it.

When the police attended, and asked to see the person whose name was on the said license, I told them they had gone away for a few days on business. If the 'licensee' had been present, the poice would put pressure on them to pay money over there and then for some 'wrong doings' that they made up.

Funny, tell the police you were going to consult your lawyer the next day and it all seemed to go away !