IBC泰國法律金融會計事務所International Business Consultancy

What You Should Know When Importing Food to Thailand

您應該知道的進口食品到泰國須知

When importing food such as vitamins and medicine for business trading in Thailand, it is important to know relevant laws and regulations to minimize its risk. The first step for an importer to do is to register with the Thai Customs Department according to Customs Act B.E. 2469 (1926). After completing its registration, the importer is required to obtain either an import license from Thai Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) under Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979), or an important license from Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) under Export and Import of Goods Act BE 2522 (1979). In addition, foods for sale in Thailand are subject to inspection by the FDA and/or Customs. There are 4 groups of foods must be approved by the FDA, details are as follows:[1]

將食品像是維他命和藥品等進口到泰國發展業務時，了解相關法律及法規來降低商業風險非常重要。進口商要做的第一步是根據佛曆2469年 (1926) 《泰國海關法》在泰國海關部門註冊。完成註冊後，進口商可以根據佛曆2522年(1979)《泰國食品法》從泰國食品藥物管理局(“FDA”)或是根據佛曆2522年 (1979)《泰國貨物進出口法》從泰國商務部(“MOC”)獲得進口許可證。此外，在泰國銷售的食品需接受 FDA 和/或海關的檢查。有4組食品必須獲得FDA批准，詳情如下：

Group 1: Specific Controlled Foods - Foods that are most at risk to consumer health and can be life threatening because they are intended for high-risk consumers, such as babies, or produced in a highly regulated manufacturing process, or food that is widely eaten and therefore needs to be controlled and supervised as rigorously as possible.[2]

第一組: 特別管制食品 - 對消費者健康風險最大且可能危及生命的食品，因為它們是為高風險消費者（例如嬰兒）或在高度監管的製造過程中生產。或者該食品是一種被廣泛食用的食物，因此需要盡可能嚴格地控制和監督。

Group 2: Food Prescribed Quality or Standard - Foods that poses a risk to the health of consumers but is not as severe as the first group. It follows the guidelines of good production methods.[3]

第二組: 標準化食品 - 對消費者健康構成風險但不如第一組嚴重的食品。該食品遵循良好生產方法的指導方針。

Group 3: Foods that must be labeled - These are food groups that often face problems with deception. Therefore, the FDA has to force the labeling along with the quality control standards to be in accordance with the law.[4]

第三組: 具標示之食品 - 這組食品經常面臨欺騙問題。因此，FDA必須強制依據法律加上標籤與質量控制標準。

Group 4: Other foods - that do not fall into the 3 food groups above such as plants and products, animals and products, extracts/synthetics from plants used as raw materials, nutrients, flour and products, various culinary products that are not ready to eat, condiments, sugar, spices, etc.

第四組: 一般食品 - 不屬於上述三組食品，例如植物和其產品、動物和其產品、用作原料的植物提取物/合成物、營養素、麵粉和產品、各種烹飪產品，還不能吃的，調味品，糖，香料等。

IBC International Business Consultancy is a law, finance and accounting firm located in Bangkok, Thailand with experienced lawyers, accountants, and financial advisers. We provide services including investment, tax and legal advice in Thailand. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via Line: @ibcfirm for further information.

IBC泰國法律金融會計事務所 (International Business Consultancy) 為一間位於曼谷的泰國法律金融會計事務所，由經驗豐富的律師、會計師、及財務顧問組成，可提供泰國投資、泰國稅收及泰國法律諮詢等服務。如果有什麼問題，可以隨時通過Line: @ibcfirm與我們聯繫。