Thailand: Excise Dept instructed to ease rules on canned beer

Thailand’s cabinet spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat says that the Excise Department has been instructed to amend rules on canning beer that restrict entry for small craft brewers, Asia Brewers Network reported on October 24.

Thailand’s Cabinet has taken a significant step towards opening up the nation’s craft beer sector by formally instructing the Excise Department to amend regulations that currently favour large producers and effectively block small-scale craft brewers from entering the canned-beer market.

According to Cabinet spokesman and deputy leader of the Bhumjaithai party, Siripong Angkasakulkiat, the directive was issued at the Cabinet’s weekly meeting on 21 October 2025 following a briefing from the Ombudsman’s Office, which concluded that the department’s existing rules may conflict with the newly enacted Excise Act (No. 2), B.E. 2568, also known as the Community Liquor Act, designed to support more local alcohol production.

Under the current regulatory framework, small brewers seeking to can or bottle beer face substantial hurdles. These include requirements for high production capacity, the use of high-power machinery, rigorous environmental impact assessments, and other specifications that favour established players. Siripong noted that such demands have effectively excluded ordinary local entrepreneurs from entering the canned-beer segment.

To address the imbalance, the Cabinet has directed the Excise Department to review and revise its regulations and announcements to ensure that canned-beer production is no longer the preserve of large producers, and that smaller firms can more easily establish operations. While the Cabinet affirmed it still supports stringent quality-control requirements for canned beer, it emphasised that other regulatory constraints must be relaxed to facilitate fairer competition.

The move builds on earlier liberalising reforms. In May 2025, Thailand’s government approved an amendment to the 2022 Liquor Production Ministerial Regulation, allowing craft-beer producers and brew pubs to distribute draft and keg beer nationwide rather than being confined to local markets. Then the Community Liquor Act, enacted in June 2025, grants small-scale producers legal rights to manufacture beer and spirits, and simplifies certain licensing hurdles.

Industry groups such as the Craft Beer Business Association has previously submitted petitions to the government outlining the barriers faced by micro-brewers, such as restrictive licensing for off-site bottling and sales; the nationwide ban on alcohol sales between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and the prohibition on online alcohol commerce.

With the Cabinet’s directive in place, small-scale brewers in Thailand may soon have a regulatory environment that is more supportive of innovation and entrepreneurship. The loosening of monopolistic controls promises to enhance market diversity, spur the broader brewery sector, and enrich the consumer experience with a wider array of locally made craft beers. Meanwhile, the large established producers will need to prepare for a more competitive landscape.