It has been published on 10 August 2012 that Thailand’s government has decided to postpone the planned increase in the value added tax (VAT) rate by two years to help stimulate the consumer spending and private sector investment, which are essential for the recovery of the country’s economy.

The weekly Cabinet meeting has approved the proposal from the Finance Ministry to maintain the current 7% VAT rate, which had previously been planned to increase to 10% from October 1, 2012 to September 30 2014.

The current VAT rate is being maintained for the sales of all types of products and services, as well as all imports. From October 1, 2014 the rate will be raised to 9%.