BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand is considering a departure tax on everyone leaving the country, with the Revenue Department opening public consultations on a draft law proposing an initial 1,000-baht levy for air travel.

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Feedback is being accepted until 29 October via the department’s website, with the consultation launched on 30 September. Under the draft, all travellers would pay the tax each time they exit Thailand, at a rate set by ministerial regulation and capped at 5,000 baht per trip. The starting rate would be 1,000 baht by air, while land and sea departures would initially be exempt.

Air travellers in certain categories would also be spared, including the royal family and their entourages, foreign heads of state, state and government guests, children aged two or under, transit passengers, and those on official missions for the Thai or foreign governments.

Payment would be required before departure, collected by transport operators or ticket agents alongside the fare. The law would take effect 180 days after publication in the Royal Gazette and would not apply to those who bought tickets before it came into force but travel afterwards.

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The draft also empowers officials to assess and collect unpaid tax, surcharges and penalties — twice the tax due, plus 1.5 per cent per month or part-month — and sets penalties for evasion or non-compliance. The proposed levy would come on top of the passenger service charge already collected by Airports of Thailand.

-Thailand News (TN)