Monitoring e-commerce businesses
Effective 1 July 2015, any limited company that would like to register its main business activity as e-commerce must register conducting a direct marketing business with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) prior to registration with the Department of Business Development.
Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Legal, OCPB, DBD, Consumer Protection Law, E-Commerce, Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act
11 August 2015
The law on direct marketing was actually enacted in 2002. Focusing on e-commerce, the purpose of the Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act, 2002, is to protect online shoppers from misleading sales statements, as it appeared in many cases that product quality did not live up to its advertising.
The Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act states that, “no one is allowed to carry out direct marketing unless he has registered the direct marketing business with the OCPB. Anyone that fails to do so will be subject to a prison sentence of no more than one year, or a penalty of no more than THB 100,000, or both, with a penalty of no more than THB 10,000 a day while in violation of the law”.
Online sellers are not only required to register for e-commerce with the OCPB, but must also ensure that they comply with other applicable laws, such as having the required documents for selling online, providing a product warranty, providing product replacements, and complying with advertising guidelines as prescribed in the Consumer Protection Law.
For more information on the Ministerial Regulation on registering a business, and on the Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act, 2002, please read DBD regulations.
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