Thai Customs separates goods that are prohibited outright from goods that are restricted but can be imported with a permit. Most of what trips up ordinary travellers is in the second group, and the permit-issuing authority depends on what you carry.
Prohibited goods
Thai Customs defines the category this way: “Prohibited Goods are goods for which either the import into or export out of Thailand are prohibited.” The page gives that definition and no list of items.
One category is named as excluded from ordinary import or export, and it reads as an outright ban: “Reserved animals or CITES-listed wildlife” are not to be brought into or out of Thailand. The source describes no permit path for it.
Restricted goods
Thai Customs names six categories that are restricted rather than banned. Each needs written permission from a named government body.
| Category | Goods | Permit from |
|---|---|---|
| Cultural and religious items | Buddha images, artifacts and objects, antiques | Fine Arts Department |
| Weapons | Guns, bullets, explosives, items equivalent to guns | Department of Provincial Administration, under the Ministry of Interior |
| Plants | Plants and their parts | Department of Agriculture |
| Live animals | Living animals and carcasses | Department of Livestock Development |
| Food, medicine and related goods | Food, medicine, cosmetics, food supplements | Food and Drug Administration |
| Tobacco and alcohol | Cigarettes, tobacco, alcoholic beverages | Excise Department |
The source words two of these as “Guns, bullets, explosives, and the equivalents to guns” and “Food, medicine, cosmetics and food supplement”. None of the six is described as banned outright the way “Prohibited Goods” is. Each has an agency you can ask for permission.
What the source does not say
The source does not describe how to apply for any of the six permits, what they cost or how long they take. It gives no itemised list under “Prohibited Goods” beyond the CITES and reserved-wildlife category. It does not say what happens if a restricted item crosses the border without its permit.
If you carry anything that plausibly falls into the six categories, apply to the named agency before you travel, not at the border. That covers an old religious artifact, a firearm, plant material, a live animal, medication in quantity, or alcohol and tobacco beyond an ordinary personal allowance.