Governed by the Foreign Business Act (B.E. 2542)
Not limited to non-trading activities
Allowed to earn income
Operates as a regular limited company, but without any shareholder or director
Permitted to operate initially for 5 years
Documents Required
Memorandum of Incorporation
Articles of Association
Affidavit of the Manager setting forth the following:
Name of the corporation
Date and number of Registration
Registered office address of the corporation;
Name, address, nationality, age of the director(s) plus the number of shares held
Authorized capital stock
Number of shares as well as its par value
Amount of paid up capital stock
What Is A Branch Office In Thailand?
Understanding Representative Office, Branch Office And Regional Office In Thailand
Branch Office
Allowed to conduct a wide range of activity, like buy and sell goods, render services, sign contracts and build things.
It can;
(a) Do everything that a representative office does.
(b)Regularly buy and sell goods and services
(c) Get involved in manufacturing, processing and construction like any other local company, provided Thai laws doesn’t prohibit it doing.
Representative Office
Allowed to contact customers/clients and enter into contracts on behalf of the head office, but can’t make sales.
It can;
(a) Contact customers to introduce its head office to them
(b) Research commercial information and provide the information to the head office
(c) Do market research.
(d) Market goods at trade fairs
(e) Rent an office and employ staff
(f) Enter into contracts with local clients/customers on behalf of the head office
Multinational Companies Willing To Operate Businesses In Thailand Without Having To Open A Limited Company Usually Chose To Open A Branch Office. Unlike A Representative Office, A Branch Office Is Not Limited To Any Non-Trading Activity And Therefore Is Allowed To Earn Income.
Regional Office
It can;
a) Communicate, coordinate and direct, on behalf of the head office
b) The operation of branches and affiliates which are located in the region
c) Provide services in consulting and management
d) Training and personnel development
e) Financial management
f) Marketing control and sales promotion planning
g) Product development
h) Services in research and development
Taxes That A Branch Office In Thailand Is Subjected To
Corporate income tax on its net profits
Withholding tax on payments of income to the recipients
Personal withholding tax on payments of income to the employees
Specific business tax on certain kind of business income transactions
Withholding tax on remittances
Value Added Tax on sales of goods and services as well as on imports Stamp duty tax on various instruments
How To Establish A Branch Office In Thailand
Necessary documents should be notarized and certified by the Thai Embassy that should be submitted to the Commercial Registrar
Next, the foreign business must get be registered with the Revenue Department
Resident representative should be appointed to deal with the tax authorities
A working capital of at least 3-5 million baht must be shown to establish a branch in Thailand
Usually, it takes 4-5 weeks to complete the process, from collecting documents to obtaining certification from the Commercial Service Office. However, registration by the Thai government may take a few weeks to a few months.