On October 14, 2026, Thailand's Department of Foreign Trade (กรมการค้าต่างประเทศ) opened a public hearing on draft principles for a certificate of full or partial tariff exemption on garlic imported under the Thailand-Bhutan agreement. The draft is titled หลักการเกี่ยวกับการออกหนังสือรับรองแสดงการได้รับสิทธิในการยกเว้นภาษีทั้งหมดหรือบางส่วนสำหรับการนำเข้าสินค้ากระเทียมตามความตกลงไทย-ภูฏาน. Thai importers of garlic originating in Bhutan, Thai customs brokers filing tariff-exemption certificates for that garlic, and Thai garlic distributors buying under the Thailand-Bhutan country-specific quota must file comments on those draft principles by November 12, 2026, and plan to obtain that certificate before claiming the exemption, or comments received after November 12, 2026 fall outside the hearing and an importer who later lacks the certificate cannot claim the full or partial tariff exemption and pays the ordinary duty on that garlic.
The hearing runs from October 14, 2026 through November 12, 2026, on the Department of Foreign Trade hearing page and on the central legal-system portal. The explanatory note states that a Cabinet resolution of June 10, 2026 requires a customs-tariff preference, and a waiver of non-tariff measures, for agricultural goods that originate in and are shipped directly from Bhutan. The commitment covers 10 annual quota lines. Garlic is one of them, at 130 tonnes. The Committee on Agricultural and Cooperatives Policy and Development Planning, at its meeting 1/2569, agreed that WTO in-quota allocation and certificate rules would apply from 2027 (the note writes the year as 2570).
What do the draft garlic certificate principles require?
The draft confines the certificate to garlic that originates in Bhutan and is shipped directly from Bhutan, and it caps certificates at 130 tonnes a year.
| Point | Draft rule |
|---|---|
| Who may apply | The applicant must be the Public Warehouse Organization (องค์การคลังสินค้า) |
| Goods | Garlic originating in Bhutan and shipped directly from Bhutan |
| Annual volume | 130 tonnes for certificates issued in the year |
| Filing | Electronic application, with the invoice, the transport document and a Form BT certificate of origin |
| Life of the certificate | 30 days from the date of issue, and not later than December 31 of the year of issue |
| After each import | Report the import to the Department through its electronic system within 30 days. A missed report can lead the Department to suspend further certificates |
The note says the garlic must be shown to the Thai Customs Department with the certificate. The hearing form asks for agreement or disagreement, with reasons, and whether the comment may be published with or without the commenter's name. The principles are not yet a text in the Royal Thai Government Gazette.
Who may apply, and who still depends on the certificate?
Under the draft, the only person entitled to apply for the certificate is the Public Warehouse Organization.
Importers of Bhutanese garlic, customs brokers who file the certificate, and distributors buying under the quota still need it in the import file: the note ties the preference to presentation of the certificate at Customs. A broker who assumed any licensed importer could apply should comment on the Public Warehouse Organization rule before November 12, 2026. The note names no HS code, duty rate or fine, and it does not extend the certificate to garlic of any other origin.
What should those actors file before November 12, 2026?
Comments close on November 12, 2026, on the Department hearing page and through the Office of the Council of State central system.
- Download the explanatory note and mark agreement or disagreement, with reasons, on the hearing form.
- If the business is not the Public Warehouse Organization, say so: the draft reserves the right to apply to that organization alone.
- Map who will hold the certificate, the invoice, the transport document and the Form BT certificate of origin when the preference is claimed at Customs.
- Plan around a certificate that lasts 30 days from issue and cannot run past December 31 of the year it is issued.
- Plan the import report to the Department within 30 days of each shipment. A missed report is the ground the draft gives for suspending further certificates.
Obsidian monitoring follows Department of Foreign Trade hearings jurisdiction by jurisdiction and surfaces a certificate rule when the hearing page is published.
What is blocked if the certificate is missing or the comment is late?
A comment filed after November 12, 2026 is outside this hearing. The explanatory note states that garlic entering under the Thailand-Bhutan commitment must be accompanied by the certificate when it is presented to Customs, and that a failure to report an import within 30 days can lead the Department to suspend further certificates.
The note states no criminal penalty and no ordinary duty rate. The preference is available with the certificate: without it the importer cannot claim the exemption and pays the ordinary duty on that garlic. The hearing fixes the text before a regulation is made.
Before November 12, 2026, confirm the shipments are Bhutan-origin garlic inside the 130-tonne line, read the note, and file a comment if the Public Warehouse Organization rule or the 30-day certificate life does not match the import path. Brief the broker who will present the certificate to Customs, and keep Form BT with the invoice and the transport paper. Obsidian keeps these rules on one monitoring job so the adopted text is visible when the Department publishes it.
