Closing a Branch or Representative Office in Thailand
According to the Civil and Commercial Code (“CCC”), it is mandatory for an ordinary partnership, a registered partnership and a company limited to be liquidated after the dissolution process has been completed.
Keywords: Legal, Thailand, Branch Office, Representative Office, Civil and Commercial Code
However, from a legal point of view, a branch or representative office carrying on business in Thailand is regarded as the same legal entity as the head office. Therefore, the head office will be responsible for all liabilities of its branch office or representative office in Thailand and the CCC does not apply (no requirement to enter into a liquidation process).
It is not difficult to close a branch or a representative office since it requires only a notification of cessation of operation to be filed with the registrar of the Department of Business Development (“DBD”) within 15 days of the closing date, de-registration of VAT for a branch office that is VAT registered and cancellation of the tax identification number with the Revenue Department within 60 days.
The branch or representative office must file audited financial statements as at the closing date (the date that the DBD acknowledged the receipt of the application) with the Revenue Department within 150 days after the closing date along with the corporate income tax return.
After settlement of all liabilities, if there are any remaining funds in a branch or representative office, these can be returned to the head office.
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