Thailand's Fiscal Position Strengthens as Revenue Exceeds Expectations

Increased VAT collection and other factors contribute to positive financial results

 

Thailand's Finance Ministry has announced that government revenue for the first four months of the 2025 fiscal year is exceeding targets by 10.38 billion baht.  

 

A surge in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue from domestic spending, up 13% compared to the same period last year, is a key driver of this overperformance.

 

Pornchai Thirraveja, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office and spokesperson for the Finance Ministry, confirmed that net revenue reached 826.998 billion baht between October 2024 and January 2025. This is 1.3% higher than anticipated and almost matches the revenue generated during the same period last year.

 

Several factors have contributed to this positive result.  These include revenue carried over from the previous fiscal year from some state-owned enterprises, the transfer of surplus funds from bond sales used to offset the budget deficit, and, most significantly, the increased VAT revenue from domestic consumption, which has risen by 20.73 billion baht year-on-year.

 


"Net government revenue collection for the first four months of the 2025 fiscal year continues to surpass targets," Pornchai stated. "The Ministry of Finance will continue to monitor and manage revenue collection for the remainder of the fiscal year to ensure that net government revenue remains close to the established target."
 
 

Combined revenue from the three main tax-collecting departments totalled 858.889 billion baht, 0.2% above target and 2.8% higher than the same period last year. The individual performance of each department was as follows:


The Revenue Department collected 646.016 billion baht, exceeding its target by 1.2% and showing a 3.7% increase year-on-year.
The Excise Department collected 173.988 billion baht, falling short of its target by 1.4% but still showing a 0.7% increase compared to the previous year.
The Customs Department collected 38.885 billion baht, missing its target by 6.8% and also falling 2.7% below the previous year’s figures.
 

Revenue from state-owned enterprises amounted to 59.726 billion baht, significantly exceeding its target by 40% but falling 15.7% short of the same period last year. The Treasury Department collected 7.467 billion baht, slightly exceeding its target by 0.7% and showing a 1.1% increase year-on-year.

 

The government's fiscal position, based on the cash flow system, shows that 822.991 billion baht was deposited into the treasury during the first four months of the fiscal year, while expenditure reached 1,581.382 billion baht. The government borrowed 478.753 billion baht to cover the deficit, leaving a treasury balance of 245.494 billion baht at the end of January 2025.

(2025/02/24-00:00)