A draft amendment on excise taxes proposed to parliament by the Move Forward Party (MFP) on 2 February received positive feedback from members of parliament, but the reading was adjourned for lack of a quorum.

The draft, known as the ‘Progressive Liquor Act’, aims to amend Section 153 of the Excise Tax Act B.E.2560 which requires alcohol producers to obtain permits under strict and high-cost standards set by the Ministry of Finance. The amendment will lower the existing standards, allowing small and medium-sized breweries to enter the market.

Entry into the alcohol business in Thailand is still economically impossible for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs. The Notification of the Ministry of Finance Re the Administration of Liquor Businesses 2000 sets very high and expensive standards for those who want to make and sell alcohol.

For example, for drinks produced by distillation, the producer must establish a company with at least 10 million baht authorized capital and a production capacity of at least 30,000 litres a day. For fermented products like wine or beer, a company must be registered with at least 10 million baht authorized capital, and a production capacity of at least 10,000,000 litres a year.

For the small brewers serving on-site, or 'Brewpubs', they are required the production of at least 100,000 litres or up to 1,000,000 litres a year.

These regulations have been criticized as feasible only for big companies.

Thaopipob Limjittakorn, an MFP MP for Bangkok and a former beer activist who proposed the draft, said he was extremely excited when he gave a speech in parliament on the draft proposal. 1,838 days ago, he was arrested for producing a craft beer, but now he was in parliament trying to unlock one of the most concrete forms of monopoly in Thai business.

Most MPs in parliament gave a positive response to the draft, saying that it would create more competition in the alcohol business, provide consumers with more choice of products, add value to agricultural products used to brew alcoholic beverages and become an opportunity for local liquors to be showcased. They also believe that market distribution will not be significantly changed to the point where big producers are affected.

Pisit Leeahtam, a party list MP from the Democrat Party, expressed disagreement with the draft, saying that there would be more alcohol-related accidents, where the damage would exceed the revenue.

After over 2 hours of discussion, Anucha Nakasai, Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Cabinet would discuss the proposal before sending it back to parliament for a vote. This process will take 60 days. However, parliament had to adjourn the vote to submit the draft to the Cabinet for lack of a quorum. The 234 MPs present at the time were 4 short of the number needed to take a vote.