In brief
The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) published a draft amendment of the Notification of the Trade Competition Commission re: Guideline on Fair Trade Practices relating to Credit Terms with SMEs Offering Goods or Services (or commonly referred to as the SME Credit Term Guideline).
This is the first amendment after the guideline became effective in December 2021 (see our previous newsletter in August 2021) and is now open for public hearing.
The draft amendment proposes changes to the definition of an SME as shown below. The other provisions remain unchanged.
| Previous guideline | Proposed amendment* |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer:200 employees or less.Annual revenue of THB 500 million or less. | Manufacturer:Annual revenue of THB 500 million or less. |
| Service provider/wholesaler/retailer:100 employees or less.Annual revenue of THB 300 million or less. | Service provider/wholesaler/retailer:Annual revenue of THB 300 million or less. |
*The proposed amendment refers to the employee threshold as well. However, in essence, the annual revenue threshold will dominate.
The main objective is to carve out businesses which are able to generate substantial revenue with a small number of employees (e.g., less labor-intensive industries such as tech companies, having work outsourced to third parties).
The TCCT is accepting public comments on the draft amendment until 20 April 2022. The public is encouraged to submit their comments electronically via www.tcct.or.th.
After the public comment period, the TCCT will consider the comments and suggestions from the public and will publish a summary report, along with its opinion, and proceed with the issuance of the official amendment.
We will closely monitor the situation and keep you updated on the developments.
