Thailand’s Customs Department will end the longstanding de minimis duty exemption for low-value imports, narrowing exemptions for small consignments from 1 January 2026.
Thailand’s Customs Department has issued Customs Department Announcement No. 219/2568 in the Royal Gazette on 11 December 2025, revising the criteria for imports eligible for exemption from customs duty.
The changes will significantly narrow the scope of duty-free treatment for low-value goods from 1 January 2026.
Under the announcement, the duty exemption under Type 12 applies only when the customs value of each imported item does not exceed THB 1. As a result, the long-standing de minimis customs duty exemption, commonly applied to consignments with a value of up to THB 1,500, will effectively cease. The final day on which the existing threshold applies is 31 December 2025.
The revised rules form part of a broader framework governing the valuation of imported goods, based on principles set out in Thai customs and tax legislation from the Buddhist Era. These provisions aim to ensure uniformity and transparency in the determination of customs value for tax assessment and duty collection purposes.
Separately, Thailand has already implemented interim measures to collect 7% VAT on imported low-value goods with a CIF value exceeding THB 1 and not more than THB 1,500. The Customs Department has confirmed that this interim VAT collection mechanism will remain in place through 31 December 2025.
The announcement was formally published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette in late 2025, giving it legal effect and confirming the timeline for the transition to the new customs duty exemption criteria.
