Thailand TISO Company: Eligible Services, Trading Limits, and Application

Key takeaways

• TISO activity 10.1.1 is a project scope, not a general trading licence.
• Two goods-related TISO routes are explicit: selected machinery-related work and wholesale of products made in Thailand.
• An equipment transaction must match the maker or authorization condition and one listed service function.
• Raw-material procurement for factories may fit the separate IPO activity, which has its own warehouse, inventory-system, sourcing, sales, and capital conditions.
• TISO requires THB 10 million in annual selling and administrative expenses; IPO instead specifies THB 10 million in paid-up registered capital.

Classify the transaction before calling it TISO

A TISO company is not a shortcut description for any foreign-invested trading business. Start with the company’s legal and cash flow: who buys the goods, who takes title, who issues each invoice, which entity holds inventory, and whether the Thai operation earns a service fee or product margin. The same sourcing team can perform a TISO information service for one client and take part in a separately regulated sale for another.

If the Thai company only researches suppliers and reports quotations, that differs from buying stock, importing it, holding title, and reselling it. Contracts, purchase orders, customs records, warehouse documents, and invoices should reflect the business function actually performed.

Goods transactions that may fit TISO

The July 2026 BOI Investment Promotion Guide lists defined goods-related functions under TISO activity 10.1.1. This matrix is a screening map, not an approval; the certificate and trade rules control.

For machinery, engines, tools, or equipment, the project’s relationship with the manufacturer matters. The listed scope requires goods made by an associated enterprise or an officially authorized manufacturer, alongside a specific function such as wholesale import, training, installation, maintenance, repair, or calibration. Keep manufacturer authorization, product identity, service descriptions, and customer contracts in one evidence set.

Wholesale of products manufactured in Thailand is separately named. Preserve evidence of origin and distinguish a Thai-made wholesale transaction from an imported finished product, a retail sale, or a sourcing-only service. Customs classification, import registration, product standards, and sector permits remain separate where triggered.

Trading limits and the TISO–IPO distinction

A TISO scope does not itself approve general import, retail, or wholesale of every product. If the project’s main value is procuring raw materials, parts, or components for factories or dealers, assess the separate BOI International Procurement Office activity rather than stretching the TISO description.

The 2026 BOI Guide gives IPO a distinct checklist: procurement for manufacturing industries; an owned or rented warehouse; a dedicated IT inventory system; suitable procurement work such as inspection or packaging; several sources including at least one in Thailand; domestic wholesale and/or overseas exports; and at least THB 10 million paid-up registered capital. Do not present those IPO conditions as TISO conditions.

For TISO, the specific annual threshold is at least THB 10 million in selling and administrative expenses . Its current entry does not list IPO’s warehouse, inventory software, domestic-source, or paid-up-capital tests. Meeting the TISO expense threshold does not turn raw-material procurement into IPO or clear unrelated trading. IPO separately requires THB 10 million in paid-up registered capital .

The 2026 BOI Guide also states that TISO is not eligible for machinery import-duty exemption. A machinery-related TISO plan should therefore model customs costs on the applicable tariff basis and confirm any separate customs treatment before promising a landed price to a customer.

Foreign-business restrictions may still affect a product line even where it does not match a BOI activity. Map each revenue stream to its legal basis and check product registration or sector permits separately. For the ownership workstream, see the Thai foreign-invested registration and approval structure before deciding who should contract with customers.

Evidence to prepare for the application

Use BOI’s e-Investment Promotion channel and make the application traceable to actual transactions. Explain the commercial model in plain language first, then attach records showing how each line fits the requested scope. BOI’s current checklist covers project details, applicant information, and authorization material; activity-specific facts may prompt more questions.

• A product and service schedule with origin, manufacturer, customer, contracting party, title transfer, and invoice issuer.
• Supplier and manufacturer evidence, including the association or authorization supporting machinery activity.
• Purchase-order, customs, warehouse, and delivery-flow examples that distinguish sourcing information from resale.
• The TISO business plan, service-delivery plan, and annual selling-and-administrative-expense forecast.
• For IPO review: warehouse rights, dedicated inventory-system description, supplier sources, Thai supplier evidence, inventory controls, sales model, and paid-up-capital support.
• Applicant, company, shareholder, director, and power-of-attorney records requested in the live workflow.

For a mixed service-and-goods model, prepare a transaction register before filing. Give one row to each product or service and record the buyer, seller, contracting entity, title transfer, origin, customs entry, warehouse, invoice item, proposed BOI scope, and any separate licence. Mark whether the Thai office only reports supplier information or takes part in an actual purchase and resale. This register gives the application reviewer and the company’s finance team one consistent description to check against contracts, customs records, and later invoices.

Check the BOI application checklist and e-Investment Promotion system before submitting. The DBD law collection is a starting point for company and foreign-business materials; confirm the exact activity with the responsible authority.

Controls after BOI approval

Set up records so approved and other activity can be distinguished after launch. Use separate product or service codes, contract terms, invoice descriptions, cost centres, and approval owners. BOI approval does not authorize every later product or transaction. A new category or customer segment needs a fresh scope check even when the same staff handle it.

For a TISO goods stream, reconcile the BOI certificate with the supplier, country of manufacture, product description, and service delivered. For a sourcing-information service, retain proof that the Thai office reports supplier information without becoming the importer, inventory holder, reseller, or retailer. If the company starts taking title or earning a product margin, pause and test whether the original route still fits.

The BOI project sits on a Thai legal entity. Use the Thailand company formation requirements for the entity workstream, then keep TISO promotion, foreign-business permission, import, product, tax, and operating approvals on separate completion records.

Choose TISO or IPO by the actual goods path

Choose TISO when the core project is an approved support service and any goods work fits specified machinery or Thai-made-product wholesale. Choose IPO for a qualifying procurement-and-inventory operation serving manufacturing supply chains, subject to its warehouse, inventory system, sourcing, sales, and capital conditions.

If the business depends on broad resale, retail, or general import distribution, pause before describing it as TISO. Map the product and customer flow, check foreign-business and sector rules, and obtain the correct permission or change the commercial role before signing sales commitments.