Factories may be spared payment of annual fee
The Ministry of Industry is considering exemption of annual fee for factories to help manufacturers affected by the Covid-19 situation. The proposal will be placed before the Cabinet for approval.
“Over 56,000 entrepreneurs are expected to be eligible for the exemption, with total fee waiver amounting to Bt231 million, ministry spokeswoman Suchada Thansub said on Wednesday (March 25).
“The Ministry of Industry realises that several entrepreneurs have been faced with obstacles since the beginning of this year besides the virus situation, such as the global trade war and the strengthening of the baht,” she added. “This measure aims to alleviate the financial burden of businesses who have to pay annual fee for their factories, as well as eliminating the need to come down to the ministry’s offices to pay the fee, complementing the government’s policy on social distancing to prevent the virus from spreading.”
According to the ministry’s statistics, Thailand has 434 type two factories (those with machinery of over 20 horsepower but not exceeding 50 horsepower and less than 50 employees). These factories normally pay an annual fee of Bt390,750. Meanwhile, the majority of factories in the country belong to type three (those with machinery of over 50 horsepower and more than 50 employees).
There are 56,164 factories paying an annual fee amounting to Bt230.73 million.