Mr. Pramote Srisamai of PriceSanond spoke at an AMCHAM Joint Legal/ICT/HR Committee Event on 12 February 2013 on “Tricky World of Work Permits”. A copy of his PowerPoint can be accessed here. A copy of the paper distributed on Thai …
American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand 12 February 2016 Annual HR/Legal Update High Level Guidance on Thai Labor Law 1. Generally The climate for workplace relations in Thailand is generally stable and hence favorable for foreign investors. Large-scale, acrimonious labor disputes …
Unlike the Supreme Court in the U.S., Thailand’s Supreme Court has provided a right of appeal for most cases heard by the Thailand’s lower courts. In particular, any factual issue heard by the Court of Appeals would be entitled to …
Thailand’s Trade Competition Act (TCA) has been labeled an unenforceable law since it went into effect in 1999, as there have no been no prosecutions under the TCA. But on 2 February 2016 the Cabinet approved draft amendments to the …
Corruption has much the same effect on the development of a nation that cancer has on the life of a biological organism. Recognizing this, Thailand has various laws criminalizing corruption, recently enacted new anti-corruption laws and plans to expand the …
In addition to its recent tax incentives targeting small and medium-size entities (SMEs) as reported here, the Thai government, through the Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Committee, approved a nearly 2 billion THB budget to finance SME related projects. As …
Thailand has an estimated 2.8 million small and medium size entities (SMEs), with many having multiple financial accounts and which use with the smallest one used in order to understate tax liability. Effective as of 1 January, 2016, SMEs and …
On 7 August 2015 the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) approved new legislation called the Business Security Act (BSA), which will come into force on 1 July 2016. The BSA is intended to provide Thailand with a form of personal property …
The Bangkok Post reported on 9 November 2015 that: “[f]ormer Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Juthamas Siriwan and her daughter on Monday plead innocent at the Criminal Court to bribery charges in the Bangkok International Film Festival scandal.” Over five years …
The Warehouse, Silo and Cold Storage Act (the “Act”) was signed into law on 22 August 2015 and will come into effect one hundred days following publication in the Government Gazette, which publication occurred on 27 August 2015. The Act’s …
The Warehouse, Silo and Cold Storage Act (the “Act”) was signed into law on 22 August 2015 and will come into effect one hundred days following publication in the Government Gazette, which publication occurred on 27 August 2015. The Act’s …
Up until relatively recently, telecommunications in Thailand were mostly operated by the government via state-owned enterprises but increasingly the private sector has come to dominate, with the major state-owned telecom operators – the TOT Plc (formerly the Telephone Organization of Thailand) …
The Act amends the Machinery Registration Act B.E. 2514 (1971), as amended by the Machinery Registration Act (No. 2) B.E. 2530 (1987), by: allowing private individuals who are duly licensed by the Central Machinery Registrar to inspect machinery in connection …
As part of their annual corporate compliance requirements, Thai private limited companies have been required to file a copy of their audited financial statements along with a form Sor Bor Chor 3 with the Department of Business Development (DBD). Starting …
The Building Control Act, B.E. 2522 (1979) (the BCA) has been amended by the Building Control Act (No.5), which took effect on 28 August 2015. The most significant change concerns the liability of a building owner who does not provide building insurance …
Recent amendments to the Organic Act on Counter Corruption, B.E. 2542 (the “Organic Act”) have expanded the scope of Thai anti-corruption laws (the “Amendments”). The provisions of the Amendments that are most important or have received the most press concern: …
Thai law historically required that a Thai private limited company have at least seven shareholders. In 2008, a change in the law reduced the minimum number of shareholders to three. However, even this reduced requirement can create problems for foreign …
Civil lawsuits in most jurisdictions and cases start by filing a document often referred to as a complaint and then “serving” a copy of that document (and perhaps other documents) on the defendant. This is certainly true in Thailand and …
Discovery under the U.S. federal and state law is broad, providing plaintiffs with a variety of tools to assemble evidence for their cases, such as depositions, requests for production of documents, subpoenas, and interrogatories (written questions) and requests for admissions. …
Civil lawsuits in almost jurisdictions and cases start by filing a document often referred to as a complaint and then “serving” a copy of that document (and perhaps other documents) on the defendant. This is certainly true in Thailand and …
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has begun enforcing a notification that require private parties with a contract with a state agency or state owned enterprise (SOE) to submit an income and expense statement with the NACC if that contract has …
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has begun enforcing a notification that require private parties with a contract with a state agency or state owned enterprise (SOE) to submit an income and expense statement with the NACC if that contract has …
In May 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in connection with investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, indicted fourteen people in connection with wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering as …
In May 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in connection with investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, indicted fourteen people in connection with wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering as …
On May 7, 2015, the Cabinet approved amendments to the Thai Revenue Code aimed to clarify Thailand’s position on transfer pricing. Previously, the only guidance on transfer pricing has come more informally in via Revenue Department instructions (namely, Departmental Instruction …
The Department of Industrial Works (DIW) (กรมโรงงานอุตสาหกรรม) is a department under the supervision of the Thai Ministry of Industry (MOI). When the MOI was spun off from the Ministry of Commerce in 1942, the DIW was one of the first …
Tax and duty collection in Thailand dates back to the Sukhothai period and continued throughout the Adyudhaya and Rattanakosin periods. A new era of Thai Customs commenced in 1874 during the reign of King Rama IV and the “Customs House” …
Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly has enacted legislation amending the Civil Procedure Code to permit class action litigation that will take effect 240 days after publication in the Government Gazette. Generally speaking, a class action is a type of collective litigation …
Mortgages in Thailand may be granted over most any kind of immovable property provided that they are in writing and registered with the appropriate authority. Mortgages over real property are perhaps the most common form of mortgage, and Thai subsidiaries …
A bill proposed by Thailand’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which has since been approved by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), reduces the potential liabilities faced by persons in Thailand providing guarantees or mortgaging their real property for …
The Thai Alien Occupation Act, B.E. 2551 (the Act) provides that foreigners cannot perform any act of work or service without first obtaining an appropriate work permit from the Department of Employment of the Ministry of Labour. The definition of …
Please see our new article highlighting new legislation providing for class action lawsuits in Thailand here. For more information on litigation and dispute resolution in general, please see the knowledge section of our website here.
Foreigners who stay in Thailand beyond the period prescribed in their d visas may now effectively be “blacklisted” from re-entering Thailand either temporarily or permanently, depending on the length of their overstay and whether the overstay is voluntarily admitted to …
The Thai Customs Department has recently set up an amnesty program referred to as the Voluntary Audit Program (VAP), inviting entities that may have inadvertently underpaid import duties to pay such duties without any additional surcharge or penalty that would …
Facing tax revenues short of target, the Thai Revenue Department has announced it will launch investigations into possible income tax evasion. As reported in the Bangkok Post, the investigations will focus on owners of residential properties worth 40 million THB …
Thai law is based on specific acts enacted by the Thai Parliament and, of particular relevance, the Thai Civil and Commercial Code (TCCC), which is the main body of Thai law pertaining to civil and commercial matters. Book I of …
The Department of Intellectual Property (the “DIP”) (in Thai: กรมทรัพย์สินทางปัญญา) is the government agency responsible for intellectual property (IP) matters, from creation to commercialization to protection against and suppression of IP violation to human resource development and to investment. To …
The Land Department (in Thai: กรมที่ดิน) is the government agency responsible for issuance of land title deeds, registration of real estate transactions in Thailand and land topography and cartography matters. As a matter of legal formality and for the legal …
PriceSanond Partner Pramote Srisamai and Associate Nualporn Satawiriya gave a briefing on Thai Labour Law at the British Chamber of Commerce on 24th March 2014.
The International Road Carriage Act B.E. 2556 (the “IRC Act”) is a new law on international land transport that will become effective on 18 March 2014 (90 days after its publication in the Royal Gazette). The IRC Act does not …
The Thai Cabinet approved a bill to reduce personal income tax rates, as previously reported on our site here. The bill provides that the new rates will be retroactive starting January 1, 2013. Recognizing that the bill would not be …
Tourism plays a very important part in the Thai economy, accounting for roughly 6% of the country’s GDP. And despite the difficulties in recent years,the clear long term trend has been for significant increases in the number of foreign tourists …
The Department of Business Development (the “DBD”) (in Thai: กรมพัฒนาธุรกิจการค้า) is one of the Thai government agencies that most Thais and foreigners doing businesses in Thailand have to deal with most frequently. This article explains, in a nutshell, what the …
On 1 October the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum announced that the securities regulators for Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for cross-border offerings of collective investment schemes (“CIS”) for implementation in the …
A professor from the U.S. recently authored an article that set out some concrete measures that Thailand could employ to tackle corruption. In a 17 October 2013 article for the Bangkok Post, Professor Robert Klitgaard – called the “world’s leading expert on …
Former Asean secretary-general and Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan says “corruption threatens to turn Thailand into an investment “black hole” of Asean as it makes doing business in the country far too costly”, according to a front page article in the …
An application developed by Bribespot now allows smartphone reports on bribery in the Thai language according to the Voice of America (VOA). A Transparency International survey found that fully one quarter of the Thai population acknowledged they were obliged to make a …
The Ministry of Industry issued a new list of hazardous substances under the Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 on 28 August 2013 (published in the Royal Gazette on 27 September 2013 and effective from 28 September 2013). This new list (which …
Thailand’s Labor Court issued new rules of procedure in relation to labor cases which was published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 18 September 2013 and took effect on 19 September 2013. One interesting aspect of the new rules …
In a move to prevent foreigners from illegally holding land in Thailand through Thai nominees, the Office of the Ombudsman proposes to submit the draft bill to be considered by parliament, reports the Bangkok Post. Ombudsman Siracha Charoenpanij says the …
On 26 August 2013, the Immigration Bureau announced that, with immediate effect, long-term visa applications which have been approved will only be valid up to the expiry date of the applicant’s passport. Where the applicant’s passport validity expires before the …
Intellectual property (IP) is increasingly recognized as a valuable, intangible asset that can give companies a competitive edge. To best harness and exploit IP assets, however, it is essential to first identify the company’s IP assets and protect them appropriately. …
In December 2012, the Thai government proposed changes in personal income tax rates to be effective for the 2013 tax year, with the effect of increasing net disposable income for many taxpayers. Until recently, no bill on this matter …
Access our new article discussing the February 2013 amendments to Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Act by clicking here. The Anti-Corruption section of the Knowledge part of our website contains additional articles and news items on developments in Thai anti-corruption law, the U.S. …
Fourth Set of Amendments to Thai Anti-Money Laundering Act Amendments to the Thai Anti-Money Laundering Act (“AMLA”) were published in the Government Gazette on 1 February 2013 and became effective on 2 February 2013. Generally, the amendments aim to expand …
The Thai Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) says corruption in the country has risen sharply over the past two years to an urgent level now, according to a 4 June 2013 report in the Bangkok Post. According to the report, “Business leaders …
Thailand's Land Department has established new branch and sub-branch offices in several provinces as follows: New Branches: Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) Nakhon Sawan Nakhon Si Thammarat Nan Ratchaburi Samut Prakan Yasothon. New Sub-branches: Buriram Sakon Nakhon Surin Trang As of …
Following recent regulations issued under Thailand’s Criminal Procedures Code, Thai courts have new flexibility in sentencing for criminal cases. As an alternative to imposing a prison sentence, Judges may in their discretion elect to restrict the travel and location of …
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) has rendered a judgment revoking the Ministry of Industry's List of Hazardous Substances of 2003 (which contains over one thousand restricted chemicals), together with amendments made to the list in 2004. While the final judgment was …
Following a Delaware Court decision in a headline case, directors of U.S. corporations are at greater risk now for personal liability for FCPA violations and other acts of corporate malfeasance abroad. Read the PDF Click here to download Adobe PDF …
Under Thailand’s Foreign Business Act (FBA), foreigners are generally not permitted to own service businesses in Thailand without first obtaining a foreign business license or qualifying under another exemption. On 18 March 2013, however, the Ministry of Commerce issued regulations …
New Regulations on fire prevention under Thailand's Occupational Safety Act of 2011 require all employers to hold annual fire drills involving their employees. Within 30 days of each drill, the employer must submit a report to the Department of Labor …
Top institutional investors in Thailand have announced that they will collaborate on encouraging good corporate governance and anti-corruption efforts among Thai listed companies by focusing investment in those companies with proven transparency and anti-corruption track records. On the influential corruption …
In February 2012, the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added Thailand to its “grey list” of countries due to its failure to take adequate steps against money laundering and terrorist financing by not enforcing its existing anti-money laundering laws. …
The Bangkok Post reports that: “[t]wenty-two firms operating in five tourism provinces – Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, Prachup Khiri Khan and Chon Buri – have been alleged to use nominees for their foreign shareholders” according to the Thai Ministry of Commerce. The article says: Deputy …
Trade organizations and business leaders are saying that Thailand's industrial and property sectors will see strong growth in 2013. For example, the Bangkok Post quotes Payungsak Chartsutthipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, as saying: [t]he outlook for the domestic industrial …
The Thai Cabinet announced on 18 December 2012 that it is considering cuts to personal income tax rates for 2013. The current rates are set out here. A graphic provided provided in the Bangkok Post depicts the changes, but in brief …
Employees under 55 who participate in their employer's provident fund will be exempt from income tax with respect to any amounts maintained in such fund upon resignation, provided that such amounts remain in the provident fund until the employee reaches …
Many foreign parent companies of Thai subsidiaries offer securities of the parent company (e.g., ESOPs, ESPPs, etc.) to the employees of its subsidiaries in Thailand. Often employers are not aware that their foreign employee stock plans are subject to regulation by the …
The three 3G bid winners – TRUE, AIS and DTAC – have now officially picked up their long-awaited licences and vowed to kick off full commercial high-speed broadband service in Bangkok and some major provinces early next year, reports the …
Every year Transparency International compiles information from different surveys and indices to create its now famous corruption perceptions index (CPI). Considering that CPI scores and rankings are a rough proxies for actual corruption, Thailand's position has not changed much. Last …
PriceSanond partner Pramote Srisamai spoke at the British Chamber of Commerce on 28 November on practical issues and points of interest in relation to work permits and visas in Thailand. A summary of the presentation can be found here.
The motion by Juthamas Siriwan, the former Governor-General of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and her daughter, Jittisopa Siriwan, (the "Siriwans") to dismiss the U.S. indictment against them on money laundering related charges had been set for hearing on 29 November …
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is conducting a probe into alleged collusion in the bidding process of its own 3G auction, reports the Bangkok Post. AIS, DTAC and TRUE, the three bidders and winners in the 3G auction, …
Technology is increasingly being used to battle corruption. In India, there is now a website called "I paid a Bribe", where people can name and shame officials that have required them to pay bribes. In the U.S., new applications have been developed …
The Bangkok Post reports that DTAC has said it will halt expansion of its existing 3G service and prepare its network for 4G if it wins licences for spectrum at the 3G auction on October 16. DTAC's CEO, Jon Eddy Abdullah, earlier proposed …
The Bangkok Post is reporting that a draft of an anti-money laundering law that is hoped to remove Thailand from the Financial Action Task Force 's (FATF) "gray list" may not be enacted by the next FATF meeting in February 2013. …
The Bangkok Post reports that a draft of an anti-money laundering law that is hoped to remove Thailand from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) "gray list" may not be enacted by the next FATF meeting in February. According to the …
The deadline for companies wanting to participate in the 3G spectrum auction ended on 28 September. The Bangkok Post reported that although 7 companies from 11 groups had collected 3G application forms, it is nonetheless widely expected by industry observers that only …
It is increasingly popular for companies to offer their own securities to existing employees as part of their incentive programs….Foreign employee stock plans of this nature are subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC). Under …
It is increasingly popular for companies to offer their own securities to existing employees as part of their incentive programs. Not only does this help generate loyalty and motivate employees to feel that they are also owners of the company, …
The Bangkok Post reports that the Industry Ministry is considering what action to take against factories that have constructed plants without permits. An Industry Ministry committee has been reviewing factory permit applications, and has found that 21 projects require further …
A progress report by Transparency International on enforcement of the OECD Convention on the Combating of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the OECD Convention) reports increased (but still inadequate) enforcement of foreign anti-corruption laws. The signatories to the OECD …
The Bangkok Post reports that an investigative panel of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has resolved to file a criminal complaint against BFKT, a subsidiary of TRUE, and CAT for illegally offering 3G wireless broadband services. The NBTC …
The Bangkok Post reports that two local mobile operators, in alliance with TOT, will launch a 4G wireless broadband trial by the end of the year. Details are somewhat sketchy, and the names of the two firms remain confidential, but according …
To provide SMEs with more access to funding, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a news release saying that private equity is a suitable source of funding for "businesses with high growth potential". The SEC's news release says: To …