Legal Section - Doing Business
You will find here a series of summaries providing an overview of useful legal regulations, processes and legal issues for Doing Business in Thailand.
Automatic registration of an employer with the Social Security Fund
After an entrepreneur establishes a legal entity with the Department of Business Development (“DBD”), it is required to register itself as an employer and its employees with the Social Security Office (“SSO”) within 30 days of employment in accordance with the Social Security Act. The current registration process is often inconvenient and cumbersome.
Exemption from remitting minimum capital
A company which must apply for a foreign business licence (“an FBL applicant”) to conduct a business restricted under the lists annexed to the Foreign Business Act, such as engineering and service businesses, must have minimum capital of at least THB 3 million or 25% of estimated expenditures for three years, whichever is greater.
Medical certificate for work permit applications
Under the Emergency Decree on Managing the Work of Foreigners, all foreigners working in Thailand, including those entitled to work in Thailand under the BOI law on investment incentives, the petroleum law, and other laws (such as the industrial estates law), who apply to obtain or renew a work permit in Thailand, must submit a medical certificate certifying that the applicant does not have the following conditions or diseases.
Updated DBD Data Warehouse
The Department of Business Development (DBD), Ministry of Commerce, keeps records of certain information, such as company affidavits and financial information, for Thai legal entities, and the public can browse its “data warehouse” website and see this information. Previously, this information was only in Thai, so it was not very useful for foreign investors. However, the DBD recently updated the data warehouse, and some information is now available in English.
Criteria for Defining ‘Related Legal Entity’
Currently, the Foreign Business Act allows a company with foreign ownership of 50% or more to conduct the following businesses with its related legal entities, without being required to have a foreign business licence: providing loans in Thailand, leasing office space with utilities, and providing advice and suggestions on administration, marketing, human resources, and information technology.