Is my software or digital project eligible for BOI promotion?

We cannot say before the review. Eligibility depends on how your activity maps to the BOI's promoted categories and their conditions at the time you apply. Use the gaps checklist above to prepare; the review tells you whether the route is worth pursuing — it does not assume the answer.

How is this different from a Foreign Business Licence?

They are separate pathways with different purposes, questions and application processes. This page covers BOI promotion; the Foreign Business Licence service covers the licence. If you are not sure which question applies to you, start with the foreign-owned business setup review.

What happens after approval?

BOI promotion carries ongoing conditions and reporting. Where included in scope, Corporly supports the post-approval steps that apply to your promotion. Ongoing compliance does not change the fact that the BOI decided the promotion and its conditions.

What should I fix before applying for a software or digital-platform project?

Work through the gaps checklist above: development in Thailand, new functions if the product already exists, the Thai IT salary investment basis, revenue characterisation, the exclusion list, and the 12-month full-operation timing.

What is the difference between development (8.1.1) and modification (8.1.2)?

Under current BOI materials, development (8.1.1) is listed in Group A2, which carries an eight-year corporate income tax exemption subject to a cap. Modification (8.1.2) is in Group B, without that tax exemption. See the official sources linked above.

Does Corporly decide whether I am promoted?

No. Corporly reviews whether the route is worth pursuing and can prepare the application. The Board of Investment decides.

BOI Promotion in Thailand

What happened: You are planning a project in Thailand and want to know whether BOI promotion is worth pursuing. If it is software or a digital platform, work through the checklist below before you ask for an eligibility review.
The decision: Whether to apply for promotion, given the conditions that come with it.
What Corporly delivers: A review of how your activity maps to BOI categories and conditions, then the application, business plan and coordination with the BOI if you go ahead.

Ask about BOI promotion Ask about this service

What is included, and what is not.

First step: eligibility review

Assessment of whether your activity may be eligible for BOI promotion
Activity classification against BOI categories

Quoted after the eligibility review, if you go ahead

Preparation of application materials, the business plan and supporting documents
Coordination with the BOI during review
Support with post-approval requirements, where you include them in the confirmed scope

Not included

The decision: approval and any conditions attached to it are decided solely by the BOI
A fixed processing time: it depends on the authority and cannot be set in advance

What happens next, and when the fee is agreed

Eligibility reviewWe assess whether your activity may qualify for promotion.
Confirmed scopeYou receive the documents, fees and timeline the application involves.
Prepare and submitApplication materials and the business plan are prepared, reviewed and submitted.
Post-approval supportWhere included, Corporly supports the requirements that follow an approval.

How pricing works

The eligibility check is free. We quote the fee for the application after the check. The quotation reflects the activity, investment scale and materials required. Government and third-party charges are identified separately from the professional fee.

A Thai-licensed lawyer leads the eligibility review. Whether an activity qualifies is decided by the BOI against its categories and conditions at the time you apply; the review tells you whether the route is worth pursuing, not that it will succeed.

How we work

Is this the right service for you?

Businesses whose activity may fit a BOI-promoted category
Companies planning investment, employment or technology commitments that could qualify for promotion
Applicants who need the business plan and application materials prepared and coordinated with the authority

What we need from you

A description of the activity and its investment plan
Company and shareholder information
Projected investment, employment and operations
Any technology, machinery or process details relevant to the activity
Supporting financial or business-plan information
For software or digital-platform projects: where development will happen, the Thai IT hiring plan, and how you expect to earn revenue (so the review can map current Activity 8.1 conditions)

Software and digital platform: gaps to fix before applying

Promotion for software, a digital platform or digital content is activity- and condition-specific. Corporly can review whether the route is worth pursuing. The Board of Investment alone decides whether to promote a project and on what conditions. Nothing on this page promises approval, tax outcomes or processing time.

Which activity family to check

Current BOI materials describe two related activities under digital technology:

Activity 8.1.1 — Development of software, digital platform or digital content — is listed in incentive Group A2, which carries an eight-year corporate income tax exemption subject to a cap (BOI Digital Industry deck, 4 August 2026, citing Announcement Sor. 2/2567 of 15 March 2024; BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026).
Activity 8.1.2 — Modification of software, digital platform or digital content — sits in Group B (non-tax incentives; no corporate income tax exemption in those materials). Land ownership is not granted for the modification activity (same deck; BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026, Activities 8.1.1–8.1.2).

For promoted projects in activities on List Two or List Three of the Foreign Business Act, BOI’s criteria set no limit on foreign shareholding unless other laws provide otherwise, and the Board may set limits for particular activities (BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026). That is not a flat “yes” for every software company — it depends on the promoted activity and the conditions attached to the project.

Gaps to fix before applying

Use this as a checklist against your plan — not as a list of what “fails approval”.

1.Development in Thailand — Is development of the software, digital platform or digital content planned in Thailand under the project, with a process you can describe? Current conditions for Activity 8.1.1 require development processes in Thailand as stipulated by the Office (BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026, Activities 8.1.1–8.1.2).
2.Product already built abroad — If the product already exists, can you describe new functions to be developed in Thailand after you apply, with supporting before-and-after detail? BOI describes further development as creating new modules, functions or features in Thailand, assessed by comparing the existing product with the new work (Digital Industry deck, 4 August 2026; Office Notification Por. 12/2566, 3 October 2023; see also the Activity 8.1 application form).
3.Thai IT salary investment basis — Can the project support investment capital of not less than 1,500,000 baht per year, calculated from salary expenses for Thai information-technology personnel additionally employed after applying for promotion? For Activity 8.1.1, salaries of temporarily employed Thai IT personnel also count (BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026; Digital Industry deck, 4 August 2026). If you plan to outsource the build, check how that fits these conditions before you apply.
4.Revenue characterisation — Is revenue mainly from the promoted software or platform (for example licences, subscriptions or related development services as the Office specifies), rather than commissions or selling goods through an app? BOI states that income using the tax exemption must come from selling or providing services related to the promoted software, platform or content, as it specifies. Its Office Notification Por. 12/2566 (3 October 2023) excludes commission income and income unrelated to the promoted product, such as consultancy, hardware supply, or retail and wholesale sales (Digital Industry deck, 4 August 2026; Por. 12/2566).
5.Exclusion list — Does the plan avoid activities that promotion for software, digital platform or digital content does not cover — for example a website that is not a web application; consultancy; selling your own goods or services through a platform (including retail and wholesale); and improvements that do not add new functions (such as user-interface-only or language-only changes)? These are examples; BOI decides other cases individually. Activity 8.1.1 conditions also state that promotion of that activity does not include retail and wholesale sales of all product types (Por. 12/2566, 3 October 2023; BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026, Activities 8.1.1–8.1.2).
6.Full-operation timing — Can the project meet the full-operation deadline within 12 months after the investment promotion certificate is issued? Current conditions for Activities 8.1.1 and 8.1.2 state that no extension of that deadline is granted (BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026, Activities 8.1.1–8.1.2).

Processing time for an application depends on the authority and cannot be fixed in advance.

Our view: BOI promotion is usually worth it once a software or digital business has a real user base in Thailand or is already established here.

Official sources (boi.go.th)

BOI Opportunity & Incentives for the Digital Industry — face date 4 August 2026 (cites Sor. 2/2567, 15 March 2024)
BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2026 — July 2026 (Activities 8.1.1–8.1.2)
Office Notification Por. 12/2566 — announced 3 October 2023
Application form — Activity 8.1 — form version 03/01/23

If you are still choosing between a Thai company structure, BOI and a foreign business licence for a software product, see how to set up a software company in Thailand as a foreign founder.

Questions about BOI promotion.

Eligibility depends on the activity and how it fits the BOI's promoted categories and conditions. Corporly assesses your activity before confirming whether an application is worthwhile.

Not sure BOI is the right route?

Related services

Foreign Business Licence

Check Foreign Business Licence eligibility.

Foreign-Owned Business Setup

Review ownership rules and setup options.

Visa and Work Permit

Visas and work permits for founders and staff.

Software company setup (foreign founder)

Routes to check before you register a software or SaaS company: set up a software company in Thailand as a foreign founder.

See the guide on setting up a software company.

Ready for the next step?

Corporly confirms the scope, the documents needed, the fee and the next step in writing before any paid work begins.

Corporly is led by an experienced Thai corporate lawyer. Talk to us about your plan.

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This page is general information, not legal advice. Conditions change; confirm against the current BOI announcements before you apply. No approval is promised.