G/TBT/W/687  
 
25 November 2019  
(19-8003) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 THAILAND – CERTIFICA TE OF ANALYSIS FOR T HE IMPORT OF ALCOHOL IC BEVERAGES  
STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN UNION TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
13 – 15 NOVEMBER  2019 
The following communication, dated 13 November  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union . 
 
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1.  The European Union welcomes the enactment of a new Ministerial Regulation on Liquor 
Importation permission amending the previous Regulation and of the Exc ise Department's 
Notification on the quality standards for imported liquor, both taking effect from 5 June 2019 and 
notified to the TBT Committee on 18 June 2019 (references THA/548 and THA/549). According to 
the new Ministerial Regulation, the former stan dards from the Thai Industrial Standards Institute 
(TISI) are replaced by the reference standards determined by the Director General of the Excise 
Department in the Excise Department's Notification.  
2.  The European Union would like to thank the Thai Excise D epartment for its efforts in addressing 
our concerns regarding certain elements in the Thai requirement to provide a Certificate of Analysis 
for the marketing of fermented and distilled alcoholic beverages (wines, spirits or beer).  
3.  Furthermore, the Europe an Union appreciates the openness of the Thai Excise Department to 
address remaining concerns through discussions with the EU Delegation in Bangkok, as well as 
through the consultation, in October 2018, on the draft forms of Certificate of Analysis for dis tilled 
and fermented spirits, to which the European Union provided comments.  
4.  The European Union appreciates that the final list of standards is identical to those in the draft 
presented to the EU Delegation in March 2019 and that the discrimination in the  standards in favour 
of domestic artisanal products is now eliminated. EU comments on the limits of certain substances 
are significantly taken on board. We understand that under the new system, certificates of analysis 
will generally be valid for three yea rs while the certificates of analysis issued under the previous 
Ministerial Regulation remain valid until June 2022.  
5.  That being said, there remain some systemic concerns as regards the existing differences in the 
regulated substances and methods of analys is between that of the Excise Department and that of 
the OIV.  
6.  In this context, the European Union would appreciate the clarification by Thailand on the meaning 
of the "equivalent test methods " concerning the Standard for Analysis of Beer, Wine and Sparkli ng 
wine made from grapes and fermented liquor and Distilled Liquor. The European Union would like to 
know in particular whether international OIV methods of analysis are recognised as "equivalent test 
methods" for Wine and Sparkling wine made from grapes a nd fermented liquor. The European Union 
considers that the harmonisation of the Thai Quality Standard for Imported Liquor with 
internationally recognised standards is important to avoid unjustified trade barriers.  
7.  Moreover, the European Union would like t o get confirmation from Thailand on the possibility for 
EU exporters to use the EU "wine export certificate " proving compliance with EU rules of origin, 
health and authenticity in order to show compliance with the new Thai standards.  G/TBT/W/687  
 
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  8.  The European Union re mains available to work with Thailand on the review of the Thai standards, 
including through discussions at expert level on the regulated substances and the methods of 
analysis. The European Union considers that it is crucial to address the differences bet ween the 
standards of the Excise Department and internationally accepted practices, which may interrupt 
future trade flows of European alcohol products safe for marketing globally.  
 
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