Jason Corbett
1. Spending Measures (Budget Allocations)
The government have enacted legislation to allocate approximately THB 100 billion from other ministries to finance measures to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic.
2. Tax Measures (Deferral of Payroll Tax Obligations, Extensions of Tax Filing Deadlines)
Reduction of withholding tax rate for the withholding tax paid via electronic from 3% to 1.5% for the payment made from 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020 and to 2% for the payment made from 1 October 2020 to 31 December 2021. Filing of excise tax for oil products operators extended to the 15th of the following month for the next three months. Date for filing corporate income tax extended to August (Por Ngor Dor 50) and September (Por Ngor Dor 51) Filing of other taxes for affected operators extended by three months Filing of excise tax by service businesses extended by one month.
3. Subsidies to Preserve Jobs, Employee Benefits, Food Assistance
5,000 baht for individuals affected by Covid-19 per month for up to 3 months.
4. Public Loan Guarantees and Expansion of Loans to Businesses
THB 10,000 to individuals do not require collateral.
5. Student Loan Relief
Thai Student Loan Fund has announced measures to reduce penalties and monthly reduction, as well as suspend and postpone the loan repayment to certain groups of debtor.
6. Insolvency Law Relief
N/A
1. Reduction of Interest Rates
In Phase 1 of the response, the Bank of Thailand (the “BoT”) were ordered by the government to issue soft loans to businesses with THB 500 billion for loans to SMEs at a rate of 2% and a 6-month debt moratorium on principal and interest for SMEs’ loans not exceeding THB 100 million.
On 20 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the BOT announced its decision to further cut the policy rate from 1% to 0.75%, effective 23 March 2020.
2. Expansion of Central Bank’s Holdings of Government Bonds
The BoT continues to support the government through purchase of government bonds.
3. Other Measures to Support Flow of Credit
Acceleration of VAT refund process – for good exporters. The government agencies and state enterprises will reduce, defer or postpone the payment of rental, government fee, service fee or other payments for the business operators Under the BoT Announcement No. Wor 277/2563, dated February 28, 2020, there is debt restructuring for loans that are not yet classified as Non-Performing Loans (NPLs). This type of debt restructuring is preemptive, and will commence once the debtor starts demonstrating issues with debt repayment.
4. Suspension of Foreclosures/Evictions
N/A
5. Reductions/Suspensions of Mortgage Payments
N/A
6. Asset Purchases (Liquidity Facilities, Purchase of Private and Public Sector Securities, Acquiring Equity of Larger Affected Companies)
In Phase 1, The Government have agreed to establish a THB 400 billion corporate bond liquidity stabilization fund.
In Phase 2, a special facility under the BoT was arranged to provide liquidity for mutual funds arranged through commercial banks. Also, approx. THB 100 billion was set aside by the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Government Savings Bank, Thai insurance providers, and the Government Pension Fund.
7. Exchange Rate Adjustments
N/A
1. Social Distancing
According to the Regulation issued under Section 9 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005) (No. as amended) Bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues ordered to close. Mandatory wearing of masks outdoors. A nationwide curfew between 10pm-4am.
2. Closure of Public Places for Gathering
According to the Announcement of the BMA Subject: Order of Temporary Closure of Premises (No. as amended), Malls, Public and Private parks in Bangkok are ordered closed until 30 April. Restaurants only allowed to serve Take-Away food, with the exception of Hotels who are only allowed to serve residents.
3. Closure of Non-Essential Businesses
According to the Announcement of the BMA Subject: Order of Temporary Closure of Premises (No. as amended) Malls are shut until end of April. Hotels in certain provinces have been ordered to close with only a few left open to serve the remaining guests/tourists.
4. School Closures
According to the Notification of the Ministry of Education on Reopening of Educational Institutional dated 9 April 2020, International Schools are not governed by Ministry of Education and were permitted to re-open. Thailand Ministry of Education does not currently recognize online learning as fulfilling the curriculum requirements. This has been issued under
1. International Assistance
Proposal to set up ASEAN Response Fund (“ARF”) tabled at Special ASEAN Summit on Coronavirus Disease held on 14 April 2020.
https://asean.org/declaration-special-asean-summit-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/
As part of the Emergency Decree, which was issued on 25 March 2020, Provincial Governors were given the power to implement measures as they saw necessary. A number of provinces, including Phuket, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai have implemented border closures that limit who is allowed to enter the province.
According to the approval by Thai Cabinet on the Notification of the Ministry of Interior on a Second Automatic Visa Extension for Foreigners to Stay Temporarily in Thailand, there would be a visa amnesty for all types of visas until 31 July 2020. In addition, 90-day reporting is also suspended until 31 July 2020.
Additional Resources:
https://www.mof.go.th/th/view/attachment/file/3134393537
https://www.bot.or.th/English/AboutBOT/Activities/Pages/Joint_22032020.aspx
https://www.bot.or.th/Thai/FinancialInstitutions/Pages/FI_Support.aspx
https://www.grantthornton.co.th/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19/