Business Information Starting a Business in Thailand Listed below is a summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs. It examines the procedures involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI). The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business Project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. It is recommended that you use this as a guide only and contact the Thailands Department of Business Development located at (www.thairegistration.com or www.dbd.go.th) 1. Apply for permission to use company name Individuals can search and reserve a company name on the Thailands Department of Business Development located at (www.thairegistration.com or www.dbd.go.th) Otherwise, they can apply for a name reservation in person at the Department’s Registrar. 2. Deposit paid-in capital in a bank Once the company gets approval for the memorandum and the articles of association, it must hold a statutory meeting, and shareholders must pay in at least 25% of the registered capital. 3. Obtain a corporate seal According to Thai law, a company is not required to have a corporate seal except for affixation on company share certificates. In practice, however, a Thai company usually affixes its corporate seal to other documents. 4. Get approval for memorandum of association and apply to register the company as a legal entity (final registration) at the Private Limited Companies Registrar. The application for registration of the memorandum of association must contain (a) the company names in Thai and in a foreign language (for certificate of company name, see Procedure 1); (b) nature of business; (c) capital to be registered; (d) number and par value of shares; (e) address of the headquarters; (f) names, ages, and addresses of Individuals; (g) number of shares subscribed by each promoter; and (h) signatures of all Individuals. - The Individuals prepare the application for registration of the memorandum of association containing the details specified in procedure. - The first statutory meeting shall still be convened, provided that the notice to summon the first statutory meeting is not required; - The shareholders must pay at least 25% of the registered capital; - The Individuals and authorized signatory director must sign the applications for registration of memorandum of association and for registration of incorporation, respectively, before Private Limited Companies Registrar, attorney at law, or auditor registered with the Registrar. However, if the company has adopted complicated articles of association, the Registrar may take a few days to review the company's articles of association. In such case, the registration of company incorporation may be prolonged for a few days or more. 5. Register with the Revenue Department for tax Within 60 days of incorporation, the company must register with the Revenue Department to obtain a taxpayer identification card. The same tax number appears on the VAT certificate and on the taxpayer identification card, which are normally obtained on the same date of application filing. However, the VAT certificate will be mailed separately to the company’s registered address. Businesses earning more than THB 1,800,000 per year must register for VAT within 30 days from the date the income was earned. The company must also file VAT returns within the 15th day of each month. This is required even if no income was derived in the preceding month. VAT registration must be filed in person at the same office as for income tax registration. The procedure takes 1–3 days. 6. Register for social security and Workmen’s Compensation Fund at the Social Security Office, Ministry of Labor Employers (with one or more employees) must register their employees for social security and workers’ compensation insurance by in person at the Social Security Office, Ministry of Labor. 7. Submit company work regulations to the Office of Labor Protection and Welfare of the Ministry of Labor at the district where the head office of the company is located The company work regulations are reviewed by the Office of Labor Protection and Welfare, and the company is advised on the required revisions. An employer with 10 or more regular employees must establish written rules and regulations (in Thai) that comply with the amendments of the Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541 on work performance. The regulations must be displayed at the work premises within 15 days of hiring 10 or more employees. This procedure takes 2–4 weeks.