The Board of Investment (BoI) has approved incentives to support local vaccine development, encourage companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and develop an enhanced scheme for electric vehicles (EV).
Speaking after a BoI meeting chaired on Monday by the prime minister, BoI secretary-general Duangjai Asawachintachit said the board approved a measure to allow companies that still enjoy tax holidays to apply for additional tax incentives if they provide financial support to vaccine/medicine R&D projects run by public educational institutions and research institutes or government agencies.
If this support is worth at least 1% of total sales in the first three years, or at least 200 million baht, they will receive an additional 1-3 years of corporate income tax exemption and an increase in their corporate income tax exemption ceiling equal to the amount of their contribution.
If the contribution does not reach this threshold, companies can still receive an addition to their corporate income tax exemption ceiling, but not additional years of tax holidays, said Ms Duangjai.
The board also approved a series of promotions to encourage investments that will reduce the impact on the environment, support sustainable development, and participate in the development of the bio-, circular and green economy.
The measures include three-year tax holidays for investments in machinery upgrades aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The board also agreed to adjust conditions and benefits applying to some business categories to encourage eco-friendly technologies.
Investments in cold storage facilities and cold storage transport operations using natural refrigerants that reduce the impact on the environment are granted three-year corporate income tax exemptions, while petrochemical production facilities implementing carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies are granted eight-year corporate income tax exemptions.
The board also introduced a new promotion category for natural gas separation plants that use CCUS technologies, which are eligible for the eight-year corporate income tax exemptions.
In a related development, the meeting agreed to improve the investment promotion policy for the production of all types of EVs to help jump-start the sector, which is one of the government's target industries.
The investment promotion extends to the production of battery electric vehicle platforms, which consist of an energy storage system, charging module and front and rear axle module.
Electric bicycles were also promoted, which have experienced rapid market growth the past few years.
The tax incentives for e-bikes include a minimum of three years of corporate income tax exemption.
Meanwhile, the BoI board approved Glow Energy Plc's application to invest about 6 billion baht in a co-generation power plant to expand its production of electricity and steam.
The new plant, located in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate area in Rayong province, is estimated to have a power generation capacity of 200 megawatts and produce 460 tonnes of steam per hour.