Trade and Investment Support Office in Thailand: TISO Scope and BOI Setup

Key takeaways

• The July 2026 BOI Investment Promotion Guide lists TISO as activity 10.1.1; older material may use the former 7.7 numbering.
• The project must show at least THB 10 million per year in selling and administrative expenses and a BOI business plan and scope.
• Defined affiliate support, operational advice, sourcing information, technical services, specified machinery work, Thai-made-product wholesale, and network-based BPO appear in the scope.
• TISO does not create general trading, retail, or professional-services authority.
• BOI promotion, company registration, foreign-business permission, sector licences, tax, banking, and work authorization remain separate gates.

What a TISO project is in Thailand

The Trade and Investment Support Office is one of Thailand’s BOI-promoted professional-service activities. The 2026 Investment Promotion Guide numbers it 10.1.1 . Earlier guides and FAQs may call TISO activity 7.7, so use the current activity sheet when preparing a new application. TISO is a project classification: the investor still needs an appropriate legal vehicle, a registered scope, and any other permission triggered by the activity it will sell.

Draw the service chain: who pays the Thai operation, which affiliate or external customer receives the work, what staff or equipment deliver it, and whether goods are bought or resold. If the plan combines these functions with regional-headquarters work, compare it with the Thailand IBC promotion framework before choosing the application category.

Which services can fall within TISO—and where the edges are

The July 2026 BOI Investment Promotion Guide sets the current TISO schedule. This matrix turns its listed activity families into a pre-application screen; it is an editorial aid, not a promise that a project will be approved.

Two limits matter across the matrix. A listed activity does not erase the exclusions in the same entry, and the issued BOI certificate controls the approved project. Describe the deliverable and customer instead of relying on broad words such as “consulting,” “trading,” or “regional support.”

The machinery scope has its own source condition: the listed equipment must be manufactured by an associated enterprise or officially authorized by its manufacturer, and the project must perform one of the specified functions. Keep the group or authorization evidence beside the import, training, installation, maintenance, repair, or calibration plan. A general equipment-distribution business should not be described as TISO without matching those conditions.

Affiliate lending also has limits: the borrower must be an associated enterprise, the loan must be outside treasury-center services and comply with exchange-control rules, and the project must include an additional eligible support service. Treat office or factory rental as support for an associated enterprise, not a general public-facing property-rental model.

How to test the THB 10 million annual expense condition

The 2026 BOI guide requires annual selling and administrative expenses of at least THB 10 million . Build a year-by-year schedule showing each cost category, payee, timing, and link to the proposed TISO service. Registered capital, project investment, rent, and one-time incorporation costs answer different questions from this annual expense test.

• Budget staff, premises, service-delivery, technology, and operating costs only where they match the project plan and BOI’s accounting treatment.
• Separate group-company charges from third-party expenses and document each calculation.
• Check the forecast against planned personnel, affiliate customers, geography, and launch sequence.
• Confirm how BOI will assess the proposed model; a round-number commitment alone does not prove eligibility.

The 2026 guide’s TISO entry does not state the 10-skilled-employee and THB 10 million paid-up-capital conditions shown for IBC. Do not copy IBC figures into a TISO plan. Review the general BOI criteria together with the activity-specific row and confirm the application interpretation with the responsible BOI division.

What to prepare for a BOI TISO application

Submit through BOI’s e-Investment Promotion channel and prepare a project case, not a generic company-registration file. The current BOI application checklist asks for project and service details, supporting materials, process information where relevant, applicant details, and authorization documents. For TISO, evidence should make the service scope and expense forecast easy to test.

• A service catalogue listing deliverables, customer type, contracting entity, service location, and expected revenue.
• A group chart and affiliate records; for third-party customers, identify the exact service and legal basis.
• A work plan, staffing chart, job descriptions, equipment or platform details, and licences relevant to the service.
• An annual expense budget with assumptions and supporting lease, payroll, supplier, or service-contract evidence.
• A goods and service-flow diagram that separates machinery, sourcing, wholesale, and BPO work.
• Applicant, director, shareholder, and power-of-attorney records in the form required for the filing channel.

The Investment Promotion Guide 2026 contains the activity entry. Check the BOI application document checklist and the e-Investment Promotion system before filing. BOI may request clarification, so retain a reconciled version of the scope, budget, and supporting records.

What TISO promotion does not settle

A BOI decision is tied to the approved project and its terms. It does not automatically authorize every service the company may later add, and Department of Business Development incorporation is a separate legal-entity step. If an activity is restricted under Thailand’s Foreign Business Act, check whether the project needs the appropriate Foreign Business Certificate or another legal basis before beginning it.

The 2026 guide places TISO in its B incentive group and states that machinery import-duty exemption is not available for this activity. Treat privileges as certificate-specific: verify the exact terms rather than presenting a generic tax holiday. Tax registration, sector permissions, banking, employment registrations, and immigration or work authorization also remain separate.

The TISO entry excludes securities dealing, foreign-exchange services, accounting, legal services, advertising, architecture, and civil engineering from the relevant operational-advisory scope. Other regulated activities may need their own approvals. Build a separate permission map before adding an excluded or regulated service to a contract or invoice.

For the underlying Thai entity and registration sequence, use the Thailand company registration requirements as the foundation, while keeping BOI approval and restricted-activity permission as separate workstreams.

Choose TISO only when the project fits its scope and economics

TISO is worth testing when the Thai operation will deliver one or more listed support services, has a credible plan for at least THB 10 million in annual selling and administrative expenses, and can document the customers, people, and delivery model behind those numbers. It is a weaker fit when the plan depends mainly on general trading, excluded professional services, or a low-cost liaison presence.

Before committing to incorporation, a long lease, or a launch date, reconcile the TISO scope with the BOI activity entry, general promotion criteria, foreign-business position, and any sector approvals. If a revenue stream falls outside the certificate, separate it, secure another route, or remove it from the operating plan before signing customer contracts.