Bill to allow small furnaces passed for the first time
Activists campaign outside parliament in Bangkok in February for changes to the law to allow small distillers to enter the market. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)
The House passed the first reading of a bill that would allow small-scale distillers on Wednesday night by a vote of 178 to 137.
A bill to amend the Excise Tax Act to allow small-scale distillers to enter the market was proposed by a group of MPs from the Move Forward Party led by Thaopipob Limjirakorn (Bangkok).
Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister’s Office minister Anucha Nakasai said the government and the excise department disagreed with the amendment bill because existing ministerial rules could be changed to allow smaller distillers to operate, and that the government would then change the quality and quantity of alcohol. can continue to control. Production.
The Department of Disease Control also expressed concern over possible contamination in substandard alcohol.
Mr ThaOpib replied that the government should not block small distillers.
Other lawmakers supported him, saying that the amendment bill would allow people and small business operators to produce alcohol, thus increasing the value of agricultural produce, lessening the problem of low farm prices and diversifying alcohol products from different localities. .
He also said that the Constitution has given people the right to live and any attempt to stop people from making alcohol would be unconstitutional.
The Bill was debated in the House for nearly two hours. Then a representative of the Ministry of Finance said that it would take about three months to change the relevant ministerial rules, and that the conditions on license applications and capital requirements would have to be changed.
The House passed the bill by 178 votes to 137 on the first read, with 15 absentees. The MPs applauded, applauded and hugged Mr. Thopipob.
The bill will liberalize wine production and allow small-scale producers to enter the market.
The current law requires private individuals starting liquor business to obtain permission from the Director General of the Excise Department to hold stills. The current regulations also require distillers to have a large amount of registered capital.
If passed by Parliament, the amendment would amend the rules to make it easier for small-scale distillers to conduct their business.
Mr Thopipob had earlier said that if the bill sees the light of day, small-scale producers of liquor will get a chance to grow their products commercially. This will enable them to come up with their own distillery recipes, using locally harvested ingredients.
