BANGKOK, Oct 28 – The Finance Ministry may ask to collect a 10 per cent excise tax on ready-to-drink green tea, beverages, according to a senior official said.
Rungson Sriworasat, deputy permanent secretary for finance, said the initial exemption of tax for green tea was to support farmers but an inspection by the Food and Drugs Administration found that green tea was a minimal ingredient for the beverage in the local market.
The excuse for a tax exemption to help farmers is no longer necessary and the Finance Ministry need not discuss the issue with green tea manufacturers, he said.
He said a decision on tax collection should be made soon and the Excise Department director general is empowered to execute it.
Ready-to-drink green tea beverages tax collection should start in the present fiscal year, he added.
Regarding an increase in the value added tax currently at 7 per cent, Mr Rungsan said discussion with several agencies concerned is necessary before a decision is made, adding that an increase by 1 per cent would boost the state’s revenue at Bt50 billion annually.
He said it was the government’s policy to exempt excise tax for diesel oil and diesel price would not be increased in the near future.
There are several factors, not only the government’s financial situation, that have to be taken into consideration and the financial reserves, which are in the range of hundreds of billion baht, are sufficient to cushion expenses in the first quarter of the present fiscal year, he said.
