Can an existing Thai company get BOI promotion?
Yes. Promotion is granted to a project, not to a company, so an existing company applies with a new investment project and keeps running its current business alongside. What does not work is getting the operation you already run blessed retroactively: the BOI is explicit that an existing project is not eligible and that the application must involve new investment.
Last reviewed 19 October 2026
What “project” means here
The BOI promotes a defined new activity with its own investment plan: new machinery, new premises or a new Thai-based team, depending on the activity line. The general floor is 1 million baht of new investment, excluding land and working capital; knowledge-based activities such as software are tested on the new team’s annual salary bill instead. Investment already made in the existing business does not count toward the new project’s numbers.
What carries over, and what does not
- The company itself carries over: there is no requirement to incorporate a new entity, and the existing company’s history and financial statements simply go into the application.
- The tax holiday applies to the promoted project’s income only. Revenue from the existing business stays taxable as normal, and the books must keep promoted and non-promoted income apart from day one.
- Already being profitable in Thailand is not a problem; it changes the planning, because the value of an exemption depends on where the profit sits.
- For a newly established project the debt-to-equity ratio must not exceed 3 to 1; expansions are considered case by case.
The application itself runs on the same clock as any other: 40 to 90 working days of review plus the paperwork either side. Whether your new activity qualifies, and in which group, is the first thing three consultants quoting on your project will each tell you, and their fee levels are benchmarked on the BOI cost page.
Related questions
- How long does a BOI application really take?
- What does BOI promotion actually get you?
- Can a service business get BOI promotion?
Sources
- BOI: A Guide to the Board of Investment, introduction (project basis, new investment requirement, debt-to-equity)
- BOI FAQ: minimum investment per project and exclusion of existing project investment (official PDF)
This is general information about how a filing works, not accounting or tax advice for your company. Confirm anything that matters against the official notice or with your accountant. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.