Page 47 - Introduction to Investment Laws in Thailand
P. 47
According to the ministerial regulation, the license fees for businesses
in list 2 and 3 are; 1) Business List 2: 10 Baht for each registered capital
of 1,000 Baht with the minimum of 40,000 Baht and the maximum of
500,000 Baht, 2) Business List 3: 5 Baht for each registered capital of
1,000 Baht with the minimum of 20,000 Baht and the maximum of
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250,000 Baht"
Foreign businesses aiming to apply for the licenses in list two and
three have to contact the Bureau of Foreign Business Administration, the
Department of Business Development, and Ministry of Commerce.
2.3 Prohibited Investment
Foreign businesses are prohibited from operating in list 1 of the Foreign
Business Act, B.E. 2542(1999). Without approval and license from related
government agencies, foreign businesses are prohibited from operating in
lists 2 and 3 of the Foreign Business Act, B.E. 2542(1999). A foreign
business may choose not to follow the obligation according to the Foreign
Business Act, B.E. 2542(1999) and may employ Thai nominees to operate
without obtaining approval from the ministry of commerce. However,
those conducts of using Thai nominees to run business is illegal, and the
Foreign Business Act, B.E. 2542(1999) stipulate criminal charges, which
include;
- Any foreign business granted with the license or
certificate whose license being suspended or revoked or
being ordered to stop the licensed business operation and
having lost the right to appeal or being ordered by the
Minister with a final decision to suspend or revoke the
license or to stop the business operation still carries on
the business operation shall be punishable with an
imprisonment of not exceeding three years or a fine from
100,000 Baht to 1,000,000 Baht or both, and also a fine
45 OSMEP, 2021, Applying for a permission to operate a business under the
Foreign Business Act BE. 2542 (1999), <
https://www.sme.go.th/upload/mod_download/download-20201027142127.pdf>
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