Does the nature of your business involve industrial chemicals? Are you planning to take your operation to Asia or specifically to Thailand? Do you wonder if this is possible? The answer is YES and we can assist you to make it happen. Your industrial chemicals business can benefit from Thailand BOI company registration as long as your products are not paint, cleaning products, automobile lubricants, compound chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides or cement based adhesives.

There are the advantages of enlisting your business under BOI (Board of Investment) in Thailand.

• Corporate tax amnesty for 3 years
• No import tax for machinery
• No import tax for raw materials for one (1) year (can be extended according to BOI rules & eligibility)
• Other non-tax incentives

Read Thailand BOI benefits here.

Don’t worry even if your industrial chemical products are similar to those mentioned above. You can still operate your factory here without Thailand BOI.

Sounds interesting and beneficial for your industrial chemicals business? Drop us an email info@MSNAgroup.com. Get an advice from the experts in Thailand BOI company registration. MSNA Group of companies are experts in providing consulting to foreigners wishing to set up their business operation is Thailand at very reasonable prices for world class services.

We often receive inquiries concerning Thailand company registration with BOI. For the benefit of those wondering whether to apply for BOI or not, below are some questions from one of our clients before they decided to register their software business and apply for BOI privileges.

Questions:

We are a software developer from Denmark. As what we understand, we must apply for BOI status, and we know that this may not be approved 100%. However, we will appreciate if you could give us advice on the following:

1. What are the benefits of getting BOI promotion?
2. The registered capital (1M Baht), do we have to show this amount? If not, what does it actually mean that it is “registered” then?
3. We would like to have the company 100% owned by Danes, not Thais. Does that weaken our case with the BOI?

Answers:

1. Benefits of BOI promotion

If what your new company will do is to develop software, then we can help you get a BOI promotion. Below are the actual benefits that will be given to your software business if you get approved.

Under Section 25, the promoted company can bring in the foreign technicians or experts, spouse and person under the guardian of such foreign technicians or experts, in to Thailand. The number of foreign technicians or experts and the period to work and stay in Thailand will be fixed as the Committee deems appropriate.

Under Section 26, the foreign technicians or experts, who are authorized to stay in Thailand under Section 25, shall be allowed to work only in the position that the Committee approves throughout the approval period.

Under Section 27, the promoted company is permitted to own the land according to the criteria approved by the committee.

Under Section 28, the promoted company is exempted for the import duty for the machinery as approved by the Committee.

Under Section 31;

– Paragraph 2, the promoted company is exempted for the corporate income tax for the net profit generated from the promoted activity for a period of 5 years from the date you start to generate such income.

– Paragraph 4, in case the promoted company suffers loss during the period of corporate income tax exemption under paragraph 2, the promoted company is allowed to carry over the loss to deduct from the net profit generated after the exemption period for a period of FIVE years after the end of the exempted period. The promoted company may deduct the loss from the net profit of any year or many years.

Under Section 34, the dividends derived from the promoted activity, which is exempted from corporate income tax under Section 31; do not have to be included for income tax calculation throughout the period of corporate income tax exemption of the promoted company.

Under Section 37, the promoted company is allowed to transfer money to overseas in foreign currency.

If you get BOI approval, your registered capital can be only Baht 1M (100% owned by the 2 Danes, and able to get more than 2 work permits), instead of Baht 4M if you will do it another way (51% Thai and 49% foreign share structure) because you will need 2 work permits for the 2 Danes (For non-BOI companies, the ratio of work permit to paid-up capital is 1: Baht2M.)

2. Registered capital

The registered capital is the capital you registered with the Department of Business Development that the company will have, but it can be different from the paid-up capital, which means the shareholders put their money into the company according to the number of shares held by them. In most cases, because the foreigner in the company needs a work permit, the paid up capital and registered capital both need to be Baht 2M for the company to be able to sponsor one work permit.

3. 100% foreign ownership

It will not affect the result of BOI approval at all whether you decide to register the company as 100% Danes owned. Actually the BOI’s purpose is to attract investment to the country so it is fine that the company will be 100% owned by foreigners.

We hope that the above information would be a great help to those who are still undecided. Please contact MSNA for expert advice on Thailand BOI application.

Question:

We would like to operate a factory in the industrial estate. How do you usually process the application for a factory license, say in Chonburi area? How long will it take to complete the application?

Answer:

As our company policy, we will require the first payment of our fees then, we will send to you the list of preliminary documents that we need in order to prepare the application.

It should take us 3-5 business days to finish the application after getting all information and documents from your side.

After submitting the application to the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), the official will contact you to have a meeting to visit the factory site within 1-2 weeks if all documents are complete, which we will work with you for the most convenient time for the appointment of the meeting and the visit by the official. We will also consult with you and provide all support on the phone. If necessary, we will send our team to Chonburi to liaise with the IEAT officials.

It may take the IEAT official up to a few weeks (in most cases, shorter than that) for finish the evaluation of the project. Then the IEAT will notify us of its approval and we will request for the fees to pay to the IEAT before the licenses are issued.

Once we obtain the license, we will need 2 business days to translate it for you.

Contact MSNA for company registration, BOI promotion application and factory license application in Thailand.

Today, we talk about the first step of the company registration process, the corporate name reservation.

To reserve a name, the company can either submit a signed Name Reservation Form (one of the promoters is required to sign in such form) to the Department of Business Development of the MOC or fill in a Name Reservation Form and submit it through the Department of Business Development’s website.

The promoter is required to provide the requested company name together with two alternative names. The registrar will then examine the application in order to ensure that:

(a) No similar company name have previously been reserved; and

(b) The names do not violate any ministerial rules

If the applicant’s preferred name is in conflict with either of the above, that name will be rejected and the registrar will consider the two alternative names submitted. This process can normally be completed within 2 to 3 working days. If all three names submitted are rejected, the applicant will be required to re submit the form with 3 new names.

The registrar has considerable discretion with regard to the matter of company names. Oftentimes, the first name or even the first two names are rejected due to the violation of one of the two rules stated above. Once the name is approved, the corporate name reservation is valid for 30 days, with no extensions. However, after the name has expired, the promoter can still re apply for Name Reservation again and again if the name is still available.

We will talk about the next steps of the company registration process in the succeeding articles. Contact ThaiLawyers for company registration in Thailand.

Can foreigners set up a Thai company in order to open a fertility clinic in Thailand?

Answer:

Yes, foreigners can set up a Thai company and operate a fertility clinic in the Kingdom. The steps involved are:

1. Set up the Thai company
2. Have fully equipped clinic ready to do the services/business
3. Apply for the licenses, where the officials will come to check your facility

We think your biggest challenge is to find at least one doctor, i.e. Obstetrician Gynecologist who will hold the license for your clinic. And if you hire more doctors to work at this clinic, all of them need to apply for a license to work at your clinic and they have to be gynecologists like the first one. If any of the doctors are not Thai, they will still need to have the medical license from Thailand.

Contact ThaiLawyers for company setting up, visa and work permit and related business licenses application in Thailand.

Every company limited that is set up in Thailand has to perform the duties as follows:

(1) The company limited must prepare its financial statement at least once every 12 month period and at least one auditor shall audit to propose to the ordinary shareholder’s meeting to approve the financial statement within 4 months from the closing date, and submit the financial statement to the business information service office, department of business development, or any provincial business development office within 1 month from the date of financial statement’s approval although such businesses have not yet been started or have not ceased temporarily; otherwise, they shall have the fine penalty of no more than 50,000 Baht. Also the authorized directors shall have the same penalty.

(2) The director shall prepare the copy of list of all shareholders’ names that are holding the share at the time of the annual shareholders’ meeting and the list of persons who are not the shareholders from the date of the last shareholders’ meeting and submit to the department of business development or any provincial business development office within 14 days from the date of the meeting; otherwise, they shall have the fine penalty of no more than 10,000 Baht.

(3) Must arrange the annual shareholders’ meeting within 6 months from the juristic person’s registration date, and arrange the next meeting of at least one time for every 12 months; otherwise, they shall have the fine penalty of no more than 20,000 Baht.

The invitation for the shareholders’ meeting shall be advertised on the local newspaper for at least one time of at least 7 days before the meeting date, and shall send via reply mail to every shareholder named in the company’s registration for at least 7 days before the meeting date, except the invitation for the shareholders’ meeting to vote for the extraordinary resolution shall be sent for at least 14 days before the meeting date.

(4) Must prepare share certificate to the company’s shareholders; otherwise, they shall have the fine penalty of no more than 10,000 Baht.

(5) Must prepare the book of shareholders’ registration of the company; otherwise, they shall have the fine penalty of no more than 20,000 Baht.
(6) Any companies that relocate the location of head office must request for the registration to the registrar; otherwise, they shall have the fine penalty of no more than 20,000 Baht.

In case that the juristic person does not submit the yearly financial statement as specified by the law, such juristic person has offense, and the managing director or authorized director on behalf of the juristic person shall also have the offense too.

Contact MSNA for Thailand accounting, tax, company registration, visa and work permit and other business services in Thailand.

To encourage foreign investors to invest more in Thailand, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is working out its road show plan and new investment strategy.

The BOI’s investment promotion activities will be adjusted in line with the BOI new investment strategy, which will be implemented in 2015. The new strategy will focus on the industries in which Thailand has good potential.

These industries include basic infrastructure and logistics, basic industry, medical devices and scientific equipment, alternative energy and environmental services, services that support the industrial sector, advanced core technologies, food and agricultural processing industry, hospitality and wellness, automotive and other transport equipment, and electronic and electrical appliances.

Apart from building confidence among foreign investors, the BOI overseas offices will publicize Thailand’s new investment policy, which emphasizes promoting knowledge-based industries and research and development. Thailand still welcomes foreign investment and the current political situation will not have an impact on the implementation of the new investment policy.

The BOI would also improve services for investors, facilitate their operations, and create a conducive investment climate to attract quality investments into the country. For instance, it would coordinate and push for law and regulation improvement, reduce investment obstacles, and ease investment problems.

Furthermore, the BOI would also play an increasingly important role as a center for providing investment information and counseling services. It will promote the development of personnel to cope with the growing industrial sector in Thailand, as well.

It is expected that more foreign investors are likely to use Thailand as their investment base for the franchise business upon the arrival of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. ASEAN countries stand to benefit from intra-regional investment activities. Many of them are now in need of investment to increase their potential growth rates.

Contact ThaiLawyers for company registration, work permit, visa and other business services in Thailand.

Thailand’s gems and jewelry industry has emerged as a major international player in production, processing and trading. Even while undergoing rapid growth, the industry in Thailand still has plenty of room for development.

The fine jewelry industry in Thailand is labor-intensive and relies on skilled craftsmanship, beautiful designs and modern technology to produce jewelry competitive in international markets. Multinational corporations can leverage Thailand’s unique advantages, including high-quality Thai artisanship in the areas of cutting and polishing colored stones and diamonds, sufficient supply of skilled workers at low cost, natural resources and government promotion.

Thailand has established itself as a competitive production base. Many world-class firms have relocated their operations to Thailand to reduce production costs and benefit from the well-known delicate craftsmanship of Thais. Polished diamonds from Thailand are admired around the world for their high quality. Diamond polishing requires skilled craftsmanship and the operation of sophisticated machines.

Moreover, there is an opportunity for foreign firms to utilize Thailand’s expertise by investing in facilities and equipment with the excellent support of Thailand’s Board of Investment. The Thai BOI offers many attractive non-tax and tax incentives to investors. Other organizations supporting the continued development of the gems and jewelry industry in Thailand include:

– Gems and Jewelry Industries Center, under the Department of Industrial Promotion of the Ministry of Industry

– Department of Export Promotion, under the Ministry of Commerce

– Gem & Jewelry Institute of Thailand

– Thai Gem & Jewelry Traders Association

– Thai Diamond Manufacturers Association

– Thai Gem & Jewelry Manufacturers Association

– Chantaburi Gem & Jewelry Association

– Indian-Thai Diamond and Colorstone Association

– Thai Diamond Manufacturers Association

– Gold Traders Association

– Thai Jewelers Association

– Jewel Fest Club

– Thai Silver Exporter Club

– Gemopolis Industrial Estate

– Gemological Institute of America Research Thailand (GRT)

– Asian Institure of Gemological Sciences

– IGI Bangkok, Thailand International Gemological Institute

– Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand

Contact MSNA for Thai company registration and obtaining the BOI promotion for your gems and jewelry business in Thailand.

The Thai government has urged the public and private sectors to adjust themselves and seek new opportunities brought by the upcoming ASEAN integration. ASEAN Community, which will take effect in 2015, is expected to bring challenges and greater opportunities as well. If all sectors of society are well-prepared for changes, they will benefit from new opportunities.

The government had announced the ASEAN issue in its policy so that both public and private sectors would be able to prepare themselves. At the same time, they should work together in setting long-term goals to achieve when the ASEAN Community is in place.

In preparation for the ASEAN Community, the government has also worked out four major strategies as follows:-

(1) In the first strategy, the government will focus on enhancing Thailand’s competitiveness and developing it into a higher-income nation. In this regard, land zoning will be introduced to reduce production costs in agricultural production. The government will invest in transport infrastructure and develop further small and medium-sized enterprises and the “One Tambon, One Product” program.

(2) The second strategy aims to promote social equality by developing the quality of Thai people, reducing disparities between low-income and high-income earners in the country, providing greater opportunities for the people, and introducing education reform.

(3) The third strategy emphasizes “green growth” by promoting a way of life that is environmentally friendly, such as the use of solar energy and the reduction of green-house effects.

(4) In the fourth strategy, the government will create a balance in national development and improve public sector management to order to enhance the efficiency of national administration. For the private sector, the government will seek business partnerships to create regional production networks, while upgrading the standards and quality of products in response to the demands of consumers in ASEAN and beyond.

The government also urged the members of the public to improve their language skills and prepare for the free flow of products, services and labor. The people must still preserve their culture within the diversity of ASEAN and that they should also learn new things and new alternatives brought about by ASEAN integration.

Implementation of these strategies and adjustment for new opportunities brought by AEC has yet to be announced. Contact MSNA for company registration, work permit & visa, Thai labor law and further information about doing business in Thailand.

Tourism business in Thailand is a kind of industry that provides or gives services in return for remuneration in connection with tourism activities within and outside the Kingdom as follows:

– Tour business

– Tourist hotels business

– Business relating to restaurants, service places and resorts for tourists

– Business relating to the sale of souvenirs or other goods for tourists

– Business related to sports for tourists

– Exhibitions, shows, trade fairs, promotional advertisement or any other activities with the aim of encouraging and promoting tourism.

In doing tourism business in Thailand, one needs to comply with the rules and procedures as prescribed by Tourism and Tourist Guide Business Act B.E. 2551 (2008).

Once your company registered as a tourism business with the Department of Business Development of the Ministry of Commerce, you have to apply for tourism business license with the registrar at Bureau of Tourist Business and Guide Registration of the Department of Tourism. It is advisable to set up a juristic entity as a limited company because of its limited liabilities and professional acts. However, in order to qualify as a tourism licensee, a limited company must meet the following conditions:

1. Being a limited company registered under Thai laws having objective of running tourism-related business and the office shall be located in Thailand
2. At least 51% of its registered capital shall be held by one or more natural persons of Thai nationality.
3. Majority of its directors shall be natural persons of Thai nationality.
4. The authorized director(s) must be at least 20 years old on the application date, Thai nationality and has domicile or residence in the Kingdom of Thailand.

The registrar will notify you in writing within 30 days as from the date of receiving your application and documents. Such notification shall specify the amount of tourism business fee and bond to be provided.

After your application form and necessary documents have been approved, you are required to provide one or more of such bond as cash, bank guarantee, Thai government bond or State enterprise bond which both principal and interest guaranteed by the Thai government to the registrar as security deposit in an amount as stated below:

Tourism business license: Specific area THB 10,000

Tourism business license: Domestic THB 50,000

Tourism business license: Inbound THB 100,000

Tourism business license: Outbound THB 200,000

The rate of fee for each tourism business license is THB 3,000. The registrar will issue you the tourism business license within 7 days as from the date of receiving such fee and bond. Please note that the tourism business fee may be determined at different rates in accordance with the category or nature of the tourism business entrepreneur.

The tourism business license will be invalid when the tourism business entrepreneur dies or the business ceases to be a juristic person. A desire to end the tourist business is subject to an order to revoke the tourism license.

Interested in doing tourism business in Thailand, contact MSNA for company registration and further information.