The historic Progressive Liquor Bill could become law before the end of , a parliamentarian who introduced the new Bill told Thai Enquirer on Monday. A member committee was set up to scrutinise the Bill after it passed its first reading last week.
If passed, the Progressive Liquor Bill would allow Thais to practice homebrewing and for small and medium breweries to enter the alcohol market. As of now, homebrewing without a license is against the law. Violators could face up to six months in jail or a fine of up to , baht, or both. Under the Excise Tax Act, the Ministerial Regulations on Alcohol Production also stipulates that only registered companies are allowed to apply for an alcohol production license, with some exceptions.
For registered companies to apply for a license, they must have a registered capital of at least 10 million baht and they must have a production capacity of between , and one million litres per year. But Taopiphop said these current rules are not fair for small players as they only allow a few companies belonging to extremely wealthy tycoon families to control the market. He said he introduced the bill in order to even the playing field.
He said the government still wants to provide a forum for large companies to air their grievances but the committee disagreed as the bill already passed its first reading. He said there was no point in allowing large companies to provide any more objections against allowing small and medium breweries to gain a production license. Taopiphop was arrested for brewing craft beer without permission in January The arrest was before he became an MP.
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