Thailand moves to end sole-agent rule, widen alcohol import competition
The Finance Ministry’s proposed rules would remove exclusive sole-agent rights in the imported alcohol trade, aiming to curb monopolisation and create fairer, freer competition.
- Thailand's Cabinet has approved a regulation to end the "sole-agent" system, which previously gave a single importer exclusive rights to distribute specific alcoholic beverages.
- The main objective of this change is to reduce market monopolization and increase competition by allowing more operators to import alcohol freely.
- The government is also introducing a digital system to improve the efficiency of tax collection from alcohol importers.
- The new regulation will officially take effect once it has been published in the Royal Gazette.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, said the Cabinet had approved a draft ministerial regulation on the import of alcoholic beverages from abroad, as proposed by the Ministry of Finance.
The main objective is to improve market mechanisms to ensure fairness and reduce monopolisation in the imported alcohol market, marking a significant structural reform to further open up trade.
Under the previous system, conditions were set in what was known as a “sole agent” arrangement, granting only a single importer the right to act as the distributor, which led to market monopolisation.
Under this amendment to the ministerial regulation, the government has decided to repeal the sole-agent requirement, making the system more open and reducing monopolisation, enabling other operators to import and compete more freely.
In addition, the state has introduced technology to improve tax collection efficiency and facilitate the private sector, adopting digital systems to enhance agility.
In the future, when operators import alcoholic beverages into the Kingdom, they will be able to submit and pay taxes immediately via the digital system.
However, this ministerial regulation will take official effect only after it is published in the Royal Gazette.
