G/TBT/W/659  
 
18 July 2019  
(19-4781) 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 EUR OPEAN UNION TO THE C OMMITTEE ON TECHNICA L BARRIERS TO TRADE  
20 AND 21 JUNE 2019  
The following communication, dated 17 July 2019, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of the European Union . 
 
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1.  The European Union welcomes the notification by the Thai authorities, on 15 November 2018, of 
the Ministerial Regulation entitled "Liquor Importation  Permission " (B.E. 2560 (2017)), entering into 
force on 16 September 2018.  
2.  With reference to the concerns previously raised by the European Union regarding certain 
elements in the Thai requirement to provide a Certificate of Analysis for the marketing of fermented1 
and distilled2 alcoholic beverages (wines, spirits or beer) under the aforementioned Regulation, the 
European Union would like to thank the Excise Department for its efforts in addressing our concerns.  
3.  The European Union welcomes the adoption, on 22 March 2018, of implementing guidelines on 
the submission of alcohol beverages samples for quality compliance testing as part of the import 
license application. In addition, the European Union appreciates that the grace period allowing for 
flexibility  in submitting samples or Certificates of Analysis within 30 days from importation has been 
extended first from 14 September 2018 to 14 March 2019 and then, subsequently, to 14 September 
2019.  
4.  Furthermore, the European Union appreciates the openness of th e 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 distilled 
and fermented spirits, to which the European Union provided comments.  
5.  The European Union welcomes the enactment of a new Ministerial Regulation on Liquor 
Importation permission and of the Excise Department's Notification on the standards of imported 
alcohol, both taking effect from 5 Ju ne 2019. According to the new Ministerial Regulation, the 
standards 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 Notificat ion.  
6.  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. This means that the discrimination in the standards 
in favour of domestic artisanal products is now eliminated and that our 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 years while the certificates of analysis issued 
under the previo us Ministerial Regulation remain valid until June 2022.  
                                                
1 TIS 2089 -2544 for wines, TIS 2090 -2544 for beer.  
2 TIS 2088 -2544 for distilled spirits.  G/TBT/W/659  
 
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  7.  That being said, there remain some systemic concerns as regards the existing differences in the 
regulated substances and methods of analysis between that of the Excise Department and that of 
the OIV.  The European Union remains 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, in order to address the differences between the standard s of the Excise 
Department and internationally accepted practices, which may interrupt future trade flows of 
European alcohol products safe for marketing globally.   
8.  In this regard, the European Union would also like to invite Thailand to notify the new Min isterial 
Regulation and the new set of standards to the WTO TBT Committee as soon as possible.  
 
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