The Board of Investment (BoI) has approved new promotional privileges for charging stations for a wider range of electric modes of transport, including boats, laying the groundwork for infrastructure required for mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).
Applicants who invest in at least four chargers, 25% of which are quick-charge, will receive the privilege of five years' corporate income tax exemption.
As the chair of the BoI, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha signed off on the investment incentives.
The BoI had a previous promotion for charging stations that expired in December 2018.
Duangjai Asawachintachit, secretary-general of the BoI, said the government has a clear policy to promote EV adoption and aims to increase the coverage area of EV charging stations.
Ms Duangjai said the BoI board approved the criteria for tariff exemptions for imported completely built-up units (CBUs) of battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Importers of CBUs of BEVs must be promoted projects, and they are required to import CBUs within two years of the date when the promotion certificate is issued.
The BoI requires BEV investors to manufacture one of four parts themselves, whether batteries, traction motors, battery management systems or data collection units.
Ms Duangjai said the requirement aims to speed up domestic BEV manufacturing over the next two years.
The BoI has already approved four projects manufacturing BEVs from Thailand, China, Japan and the EU.
The board also revised conditions and perks for investment in electric appliances and the electronics industry to support production of smart electronics and appliances.
The board also approved five more food innovation sites for investment promotion. The BoI has already granted the promotion to eight locations.
The additional sites are Thammasat University, King Mongkut's University of Technology Ladkrabang, Ubon Ratchathani University, Walailak University and Naresuan University.
Investment projects in the targeted industries at food innovation hubs will receive additional privileges on top of the normal package of 5-10 years of corporate income tax exemption, depending on the type of business.
These top-up privileges comprise a 50% corporate income tax deduction for five years or an additional two years of corporate tax exemption.
The target activities include plant and animal breeding, R&D and scientific testing services.
The BoI reported 1,165 projects applications in the first five months, up from 1,048 in the same period last year.
The applications are worth 314 billion baht, down 11%, mainly because of a large project worth 150 billion baht submitted last year.
The total value of foreign direct investment in the first nine months increased by 69% to 203 billion baht.