Ministry of Finance (Thailand)
| กระทรวงการคลัง Krasuang Kan Khlang |
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"The Seal of the Bird of Paradise" used as the Ministry's seal.
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| Ministry overview | |
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| Formed | 14 April 1875 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Jurisdiction | Government of Thailand |
| Headquarters | Rama VI Road, Bangkok |
| Annual budget | 199,174,066,600 baht (2016) |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Website | www.mof.go.th |
The Ministry of Finance (Thai: กระทรวงการคลัง; rtgs: Krasuang Kan Khlang; abbreviated as MOF) is a cabinet ministry in the Government of Thailand.
Considered to be one of the country's most important ministries, the Ministry of Finance has many responsibilities over public finance, taxation, the treasury, government properties, operations of government monopolies, and revenue-generating enterprises. The ministry is also vested with the power to provide loan guarantees for the governmental agencies, financial institutions, and state enterprises.
The head of the ministry is the Minister of Finance (Thai: รัฐมนตรีกระทรวงการคลัง). He is a member of the Cabinet of Thailand and therefore appointed by the King of Thailand at the advice of the prime minister. The Minister of Finance (2016) is Mr Apisak Tantivorawong.
The ministry has existed in form since the 15th century during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Then, the ministry was called the "Kromma Khlang" (Thai: กรมคลัง) and eventually upgraded to “Krom Phla Khlang” (Thai: กรมพระคลัง, sometimes written as "Berguelang" or "Barcelon" by foreign authors). The "Phla Khlang" or minister had wide-ranging powers include those of taxation, trade, monopolies, tributes, and even foreign affairs.
Most of these features were retained during the Rattanakosin era. In 1855 King Mongkut signed the Bowring Treaty with the United Kingdom. The treaty exposed Siam to modern trade and international commerce; the king was forced to set customs duty rate at no more than three percent; the country was at a disadvantage, but international trade grew. Soon the king was forced to set up a customs house (Thai: ศุลกสถาน) and the Royal Mint to deal with new challenges.
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