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.
Unrestricted business activity under the Foreign Business Act
At present, a foreign legal entity which was established under foreign law and will conduct an unrestricted business activity in Thailand under the Foreign Business Act, 2542 B.E. (1999), must submit a request to the head office of the Department of Business Development (“DBD”) for a corporate registration number on paper and notify the DBD of the place where the foreign entity will store its accounting and supporting documents.
Effective date of the Personal Data Protection Act postponed
The Personal Data Protection Act, 2562 B.E. (2019) (“PDPA”) was first published in the Royal Gazette on 27 May 2019. The original intention was for it to come into effect one year after the publication date.
PDPA effective on 1 June 2022
The date for enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) has been postponed again. It will now be effective for data controllers beginning 1 June 2022. The section of the PDPA on the Office of the Board of Personal Data Protection (OBPDP) is being put into effect so that the government can continue to work on setting up the OBPDP, which has not yet been completed.
Provision of services by foreign entities
There are several projects with Thai governmental agencies and state enterprises, such as oil and gas drilling projects and power plant projects, which require the technology and know-how of foreign entities.
2021 AGMs can be postponed
Due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Thailand, the Thai government has declared a state of emergency until the end of May 2021. When specific criteria is met, AGMs can be postponed.