Exports of goods from Thailand are zero-rated for VAT, so a VAT-registered exporter charges 0 % and can still recover the input tax it paid on related purchases. The zero rate depends on evidence, chiefly the Customs export entry, shipping documents and proof of payment, which must be kept for every shipment.
A zero-rated sale is taxable, but at a rate of nil. That differs from an exempt sale, where no VAT is charged and the seller cannot recover input tax. For an exporter the distinction decides whether the VAT paid on raw materials, freight and packaging comes back, and in Thailand it does come back as a credit or a refund.
The rule covers goods that physically leave the country, and also certain services performed in Thailand and used abroad. The detailed conditions for services are narrower and technical, so a software or consulting firm should ask its accountant whether a given service qualifies before it invoices at 0 %.
Zero rating is not a discretionary choice. If the conditions are met, the sale is reported at 0 % on the PP.30, and if they are not, the sale is standard-rated at 7 %. Errors in either direction lead to adjustments.
The core document is the Customs export entry, which shows the goods, the value and the confirmation that they left Thailand. Alongside it, keep the commercial invoice, the packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, the contract or purchase order and the proof that the foreign buyer paid, typically a bank advice.
Put the set together at shipping time. Reconstructing a shipment’s paperwork six months later, when the freight forwarder has changed staff, is painful and sometimes impossible. Assign a reference number for each shipment and file every document under it.
For goods sold to a customer who then collects them in Thailand and ships them out, the position is different. The Thai sale may be standard-rated, so be careful with deals where the buyer’s forwarder collects from your warehouse.
An export invoice usually shows the buyer’s details, the Incoterm, the currency and the amount without VAT, with a statement that the supply is zero-rated. Get the Incoterm right, because it decides who arranges and insures the freight and when the risk passes, and it affects what appears on the Customs value.
Agree payment terms and the banking details with care. Exporters often accept payment by telegraphic transfer or letter of credit, and the bank documents become part of the evidence. Make sure the payer named on the transfer is the buyer named on the invoice, since a third-party payment raises questions.
Where the invoice is in a foreign currency, record the baht equivalent in the books under the method your accountant specifies, a topic covered in the multi-currency page of this cluster.
In the monthly PP.30, export sales go on the zero-rate line and the input tax on costs is claimed as usual. Because exporters often have more input tax than output tax, the return can show a credit. The credit may be carried forward or the exporter can request a refund from the Revenue Department.
Refund requests are examined, and the Department may ask for the export documents, the purchase invoices and a reconciliation of the claim. File refund claims only when the document set is complete, and expect officers to ask questions. A consistent record of exports and purchases shortens the process.
Timing matters too. Delays in claiming can reduce the benefit, so track the date of each export and the dates of the purchases that supported it. A shipment that sits in the books for months without its export entry becomes a standard-rated sale if the evidence cannot be found.
4invoices can generate a PDF invoice for the export customer and keep it in an archive, and you enter the tax treatment yourself. 4softerp can hold the books so your accountant can separate export sales from domestic sales.
The ecosystem does not file export declarations, link Customs entries to invoices, set VAT rates by customer country or prepare refund claims. Customs formalities are handled by the exporter or its customs broker, and tax by the exporter with the Revenue Department.
The most expensive mistake is losing the paperwork. If the Revenue Department asks for the export entry and you cannot produce it, the sale is treated as a domestic sale at 7 %, and the tax is assessed on the invoice value with a surcharge. The price you quoted did not include that tax, so it comes out of your margin.
The second mistake is selling to a customer who is not really abroad. A foreign-registered company that takes delivery in Thailand, through a local warehouse or a Thai forwarder, may not meet the conditions, because the goods do not leave the country as part of the sale. Check where title passes and where delivery happens.
The third mistake is splitting documents across people. Sales holds the contract, logistics holds the bill of lading, finance holds the bank advice and nobody holds the set. Name a single owner for each shipment file and review it when the invoice is issued, not when the Department writes.
The fourth is mixing zero-rated and domestic lines on one invoice. If a shipment contains items for export and items delivered locally, issue separate documents so that each line carries the right treatment and the export evidence ties to the export lines only.
Remember also that late discoveries are costly: a missing document found in the year after the shipment can mean amending several returns. A short monthly check of open shipments against their files, done by someone other than the person who arranged the shipping, catches nearly all of these problems while the forwarder and the bank can still supply copies.
Export invoices go out with 7 % VAT because the template has no 0 % option.
Confirm the 0 % rate with the Revenue Department and your accountant and enter the tax rate on export invoices yourself. 4invoices does not set rates by customer country and does not link export entry numbers to invoices.
The export entry cannot be found when supporting documents are requested.
Keep the Customs export entry with the matching PDF invoice in your own files. The system does not attach export documents to sales.
The forwarder sends the Customs documents weeks late, and the shipment sits unreconciled in the books.
Agree in the shipping contract when the export entry and bill of lading will be delivered, and file them under the shipment reference as soon as they arrive. The system does not receive Customs data.
No, exports of goods are zero-rated, so a VAT-registered exporter charges 0 % and can still recover the input VAT on related purchases. The zero rate depends on holding the Customs export entry together with the shipping and payment documents. Without that evidence the sale may be treated as an ordinary 7 % sale, with a surcharge.
A zero-rated supply is taxable at 0 %, and the supplier can recover input tax on related costs. An exempt supply carries no VAT, but the supplier cannot recover the input tax. Exports are zero-rated, while some domestic activities, such as certain unprocessed agricultural products, are exempt, so the label on a sale really matters.
The Customs export entry is the main one, supported by the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, the sales contract or order and proof of payment from the buyer. Keep the whole set together under one shipment reference and store it with the matching PDF invoice, because the Revenue Department may ask for it years later.
Yes, when input tax exceeds output tax in a month, you can carry the credit forward or request a refund from the Revenue Department. The Department will check the documents, so submit the claim with a complete export file and a reconciliation of the figures. Refund timing varies a lot, so plan your cash flow without relying on it.
Some are, when performed in Thailand and used outside the country, but the conditions are narrower and more technical than for goods. Ask your accountant about your specific service and keep the contracts and invoices that show where the service is used. Do not assume that every foreign customer automatically means a 0 % rate.
PDF invoices and an archive. Input-tax recovery and export entries are handled with the Revenue Department and Customs.
