31 May 2021 – the FLEGT VPA sub-committee approved Annex 4 FLEGT Licensing Scheme, Annex 5 Thai Timber Legality Assurance System (THA-TLAS), Annex 6 Thai Supply Chain Controls (SCC), and Annex 9 Public Disclosure of Information. These annexes will be presented at the fourth negotiation with the EU. The agreement between Thailand-EU on these annexes will mark a significant milestone for the FLEGT VPA process. With the remaining five annexes and the VPA Legal Text before the closure of the VPA negotiation.

Licensing Scheme annex indicates the provisions and requirements of the FLEGT License and the responsibility of the licensing authority and handling process of the licence.

THA-TLAS annex sets forth the system for timber legality and supply chain control verification based on the national regulations. The verification unit and licensing authority which will be found under the Royal Forest Department formed part of the system responsible for check and issuing licence. The system also involves the role of an independent audit and complaint mechanism to ensure transparency and efficiency. Once implemented, domestic and export timber will have to go through THA-TLAS. Timber destined for the EU market will receive the FLEGT Licence giving it a preferential access to the EU single market. For timber exported to other international markets, it will obtain the THA-TLAS licence, which will function as an assurance of legality by Thailand.

SCC annex describes the supply chain control process that has a legal basis in Thailand. Timber from all origins from private and public lands and import source will follow the registration and documentation process laid out in this annex for traceability.

Public Disclosure of Information lays out a list of information that the government needs to disclose to the public. The annex will fulfill the goal of the FLEGT VPA, which is promoting transparency, stakeholder participation, and ensuring that all parties, including government agencies, operators, and VPA monitoring organizations have access to the information on the FLEGT VPA and regulations on the Thai timber sector.

These four annexes will be submitted to the EU preparing for the negotiation in September. This negotiation will be the first negotiation round of the Licensing Scheme and Public Disclosure of Information and the second round of the THA-TLAS and SCC.