Tougher measures imposed in crack down on substandard goods in Thailand

The Thai government is to impose tougher measures to prevent and suppress the sale of substandard goods in the domestic market, to safeguard consumers and to protect local businesses.

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, in his capacity as the chair of a committee on the management and the resolution of unlawful products and businesses, summoned an urgent meeting this week of Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun, Advisor to the Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Thanapol Phupunsri and heads of other relevant agencies, to discuss the measures.

Ekniti said this first meeting was a significant start to the integrated planning and comprehensive actions required to protect against substandard products and unlawful businesses domestically, for the sake of consumer safety, fair trade and national economic security.

He stated that the planned tougher measures and actions will be in addition to existing preventive and control practices against the influx of unlawful products, which have been in place since January 1, 2025.

They include raising the service charge, for opening a full container load (FCL), from 20% to 30%, and the 100% screening of imported goods through high risk checkpoints, such as those in Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan provinces, with over 86,000 cases having been cracked down so far.

Newly-introduced measures and actions agreed at this week’s meeting cover the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods, priced at one baht or more, by the Customs Department, to squeeze cheap and substandard products and to ensure fairness for local businesses, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) is also assigned to issue a new notice, requiring operators of e-commerce platforms in Thailand to publish information on traders and products, along with managing the ‘notice and takedown’ system starting on December 31, 2025.

Additional tougher measures include integrated and comprehensive actions to check countries of origin, to prevent and intercept fake and substandard imported products and to uphold national image and reputation internationally.

This week’s meeting also resolved that a new regulation on the new measures will be announced officially by the Prime Minister’s Office shortly and that two subcommittees have now been set up to implement and enforce the tougher measures, according to the finance minister.