Car ownership, credit cards and family-based income will be added to qualification criteria for a new round of registration for state welfare smartcard holders, says a source at the Finance Ministry who requested anonymity.
State welfare recipients must not be credit card holders, while their family income will be taken into account. The existing criteria call for welfare recipients to have annual income of no more than 100,000 baht, the source said.
For cars, it will rest on the state official's discretion as to whether the car is illustrative of financial status because car prices vary and some are old, the source said.
Those who own more than one car do not deserve to obtain state welfare and subsidies, the source said.
Credit card holders should be barred from the state's aid scheme, the source said, as the Bank of Thailand requires monthly income of 15,000 baht to receive a credit card, which would exceed the annual income limit.
The new criteria are expected to seek cabinet approval on Dec 24, with registration opening in January.
The existing 14.5 million state welfare smartcard holders must show themselves at Krungthai Bank branches, while those who are not the scheme's recipients are required to sign up.
The source said the new round of registration is aimed at ensuring that those who need aid really receive it.
Basic welfare and subsidies for recipients in the upcoming registration will remain in place, the source said.
According to the most recent criteria, those who are eligible for the welfare and subsidy scheme must be Thai nationals aged 18 or older, be unemployed, have annual income of not more than 100,000 baht and have financial assets of not more than 100,000 baht.
Eligible recipients can own a house measuring up to 25 square wah, or a condo unit spanning up to 35 square metres.
State welfare smartcard holders are now entitled to 200-300 baht a month to buy items at Thong Fah shops; a 500-baht monthly subsidy for public buses, intra-provincial buses and electric trains; and a 45-baht discount for cooking gas purchases every three months.