A foreigner who owns a company here in Thailand has asked THAI BUSINESS EXPERT some questions regarding dormant company status.

I own a newly set up limited company here in Thailand but I’ve decided not to
continue its operation for a while as I am planning to go back home to focus on
my existing business. However, I’m a little confused because I heard from
someone that it is impossible in Thailand just to register a company and not to
have any activities. Do I need to close down this company and register anew
when I get back here? But, I also heard from somebody that I can continue my
business later and put it in dormant for the time being. How does it really
work here in Thailand? I would appreciate if you could advise me on this matter.

Answer:

A dormant company refers to a registered company with no trading activities and
accounting transactions for a certain period. It is possible to register a limited
company then keep it inactive since there is no time limit for keeping a
company in dormant status. Thus, you may choose to put your company inactive for
some time as long as you perform some administrative duties each year such as closing
of the accounting books, having them audited by a Thai CPA and filing of the
audited financial statements and corporate income tax returns by 150 days from
the accounting year-end even when you are not trading. Failure to file the
audited financial statements to Department of Business Development, Ministry of
Commerce, may result in a criminal penalty up to Baht 50,000 for the company
and Baht 50,000 for the Director.

In case your company upon its incorporation has registered with VAT and you prefer
to put it in dormant status, the company is still responsible to file its NIL
monthly VAT return. If you are planning to go back home, you should assign
somebody to assist you in filing this monthly return within the 15^th
of each month. Failure to submit it on time would have a penalty of 500 per
return to be paid to the Revenue Department. However, filing NIL monthly VAT
return for many months may be the reason for the Revenue Department to visit
your company. You may choose to file Por Por 09, VAT registration form to inform
the Revenue Department of temporary cease of operation. Usually this is good
for a year. The Revenue Department may choose to erase your company from the VAT
system if you have ceased your operation for more than one year.

Eventually, if you would like to put your newly registered company limited into dormant
status for certain reasons (e.g. you are not ready to trade yet or would like
to take a break for some time), MSNA can help you on how to make it possible. Rest assured that you can always continue your trading activities later and you would not need to close down your company. We can also assist you in filing NIL monthly VAT returns if you have VAT registration. And if you decide to close it down, MSNA is the best
people you should talk to.