Section 119 of the Labour Protection Act (B.E. 2541) permits an employer to terminate an employee without the need to pay severance pay (in accordance with section 118) if the termination is based on any of the following conditions: (1) The employee has performed their duty dishonestly or intentionally committing a criminal offence against the employer; (2) The employee has willfully caused damage to the employer; (3)The employee has committed negligent acts causing serious damage to the employer; (4) The employee has violated the employer’s work rule, regulation or orders which are lawful and just, and after a written warning has been given by the employer, except for a serious case where there is no requirement for the Employer to give warning. The written warning given by the employer is valid for a period not exceeding one year from the […]

In this third installment of our case studies on Supreme Court cases relating to unfair termination we shall continue our examination of various types of reasons used to justify employee termination including defamation, sale of business, and dismissal due to restructuring of the employer. These judgements shall help to provide useful and practical guidance on what does and does not constitute unfair termination under Thai law. Defamation Case Number 19565/2557 Facts: The Plaintiff slandered his supervisor when he spat and said that the supervisor was not an honest person like in the past and that he is a disrespectful person. Given this, the Defendant terminated the employment of the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff then subsequently sued the Defendant in the Labour Court claiming unfair termination. The Appeal Court ruled that even though the Plaintiff’s behavior was not a serious violation of […]

In this second installment of our case studies on Supreme Court cases relating to unfair termination we shall continue to examine various types of reasons used to justify employee termination including inadequate/ poor performance and company reorganization. These judgements shall help to provide practical guidance on what constitutes unfair termination under Thai law. Inadequate/ poor work performance Case Number 7096/2550 Facts: The Employee’s employment contract contained conditions which provided that if the employee: was unable to work according to the Company’s standards; neglected their work duties; came to work late; was evaluated at a low working level, or received several warning letters from employer, then the employer could terminate the employment contract. In this case the employee was unable to comply with the Company’s work standards and the employee’s work performance was evaluated as being at a low level on […]

Some employers in Thailand misunderstand the law relating to terminating staff and as such they believe that if they pay severance pay to a terminated employee according to section 118 of the Labor Protection Act (B.E. 2541), they can terminate an employee for any reason whatsoever. Such a misunderstanding of Thai law can result in an employer being subject to considerable legal liability given that a terminated employee may be able to submit a claim in the Thai Labour Court seeking compensation from their employer or reinstatement of their employment on the grounds of unfair termination. There are several issues which need to be examined when determining what constitutes an unfair termination, however in this article we will focus on judgments of the Supreme Court in order to provide guidance on the issue. To begin with we should focus on […]

Ordinarily a company limited must hold its shareholder AGM within 4 months from the end of its financial year. Thus, for most companies with their financial year ending on 31 December, this means that they must hold their 2021 AGM by Friday April, 30. However, the Department of Business Development (DBD) has recently issued an announcement which gives more time for the holding of an AGM, the key details of this update are as follows: The permitted delay applies to juristic persons (including private limited companies) with their fiscal year ending between 26 December 2020 and 31 December 2020. Under this announcement an AGM can be adjourned for up to one month counting from the date originally specified for the original AGM, provided that the company submits a letter of explanation detailing the reason behind the delay, such as the […]

AMCHAM Monthly Luncheon to hear an address given by Thailand’s Minister of Industry

On Monday 18 March 2024, Mr. Ryan Crowley (Director and Foreign Services Manager) met with Mr. Jeffrey W. Bullock, the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to discuss opportunities for mutual collaborative benefit. The meeting was a success and resulted in many fruitful matters being discussed, including the many benefits available to Americans under the US-Thailand Treaty of Amity.  

On 8 February 2024, representatives of Dharmniti Law Office’s Intellectual Property (IP) team met with Mr. Satish Kumar Srivastav who is the founder of S.K. Srivastav & Co., to discuss various IP related matters.  S.K. Srivastav & Co.,  is a reputable law firm based in Mumbai, India and a fellow member of the AEA Legal Network. DLO is always pleased to meet with fellow members of the AEA Legal Network should they require legal support in Thailand.

On the 25th of January 2024, senior management from Dharmniti Group was pleased to meet with executives from Skyworth Motors (a Chinese manufacturer of electric passenger vehicles) to discuss the various professional services which Dharmniti Group can offer. The meeting was held at Dharmniti Groups’ head office at Prachachuen Road, Bangsue, Bangkok and the attendees enjoyed lunch thereafter at the Rajpruek Club.

1. What is your educational and career background? Answer: I graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Assumption University and with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in the field of business law from the same university.       On having graduated with the Master of Laws, I had interest in legal consultation work, so I was determined to work in the field of legal consultation. And I’ve been working in this field to date, with 9 years of work experience in total.   2. What legal practice areas do you currently work in? Answer: The professional areas I’m handling are legal consultation works relating to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), entire business transfers (EBT), partial business transfers (PBT), takeovers, joint ventures, legal due diligence, conversions into public limited companies and the listing of companies on the Stock Exchange of […]

Q: Is a hire-of-work document, which is signed and states the employer’s and contractor’s address, subject to stamp duty? A: A document setting out hire of work details, including the names of the employer and contractor, the date, reference number of the document, code, item, amount, price per unit, and total price, with or without the signatures, and which requires the employer’s order each time, Shall not be deemed as meeting the required characteristics of a hire-of-work agreement. Instead, it is only evidence of the juristic act in accordance with Section 587 of Civil and Commercial Code which prescribes that “the hire of work is a contract whereby a person, called contractor, agrees to accomplish a definite work for another person, called employer, who agrees to pay him a remuneration of the result of the work. Thus, such document shall […]

Q : Is the money derived from the dissolution of a limited partnership that the partner received deemed as a dividend or share of profits and is the partner entitled to claim it as a tax credit? A : No, such money is not deemed as a dividend or share of profits that can be claimed as a tax credit in accordance with Section 40 (4) (b) of the Thai Revenue Code (“TRC”), in conjunction with Section 47 Bis of the TRC. Instead, only the portion that exceeds the capital deemed as a benefit that the partner received in accordance with Section 40 (4) (f) of the TRC. Supreme Court Judgment No. 13935/2555 The TRC does not prescribe a specific definition of dividend and share of profits, hence its definition shall be determined based on Section 1084 of the Civil […]

Q : Whether a loan agreement without a stamp duty or with a stamp duty but not be cancelled is admissible in order that the Plaintiff shall be liable under the Act on Offenses Arising from the Use of Cheque B.E. 2534 (“Cheque Act”)? How? A : A loan agreement is one of the instruments that shall be stamped in accordance with Clause 5 of Stamp Duty Schedule. If the instrument is not stamped or it is stamped but not cancelled, it shall be deemed the instrument not duty stamped in accordance with Section 103 of Thai Revenue Code (“TRC”), resulting in being inadmissible evidence in civil case in accordance with Section 118 of the TRC. Thus, in criminal prosecution regarding the liability under the Cheque Act, despite the fact that the Defendant issues a cheque to pay the Plaintiff […]

Q : Shall the business operation on goods transportation inside and outside Thailand be liable for VAT and how is it? Shall the input VAT on the goods transportation outside Thailand be taken as a tax credit in VAT computation? A : The business operations on the goods transportation from inside to outside Thailand and the goods transportation from outside to inside Thailand are deemed business partially performed or service used in Thailand and shall be subject to VAT. Nevertheless, the business operation on the goods transportation outside Thailand from one country to another country despite the client correspondence or client contact done in Thailand is deemed business of which none of its part performed or service not provided in Thailand. Therefore, it shall not be subject to VAT in accordance with Section 80/1 (3) of Thai Revenue Code (“TRC”), […]

Cabinet approves a new personal income tax rate which decreases revenue by 27,000 million Baht.

 Exemption on income  tax, VAT , specific business tax and stamp duty for income donated to support sporting  activities

Exemptions on income tax for supporting educational institutions

Mr. Aphsit Vejjajiva,Prime Minister,chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) today announced the resolutions to promote 6 new  industries with the special measures .

 Tax Newsletter Dharmniti Law Office Co., Ltd. Issue No. 148, in November 2023   Tax Law Updates      1. The criteria, procedures, conditions, and duration of an income tax and value-added tax exemption relating to the transfer of digital tokens for investments offered to the public      The Notification of the Director-General of the Revenue Department (Issue No. 52) sets out the criteria, procedures, conditions, and duration of an income tax and value-added tax exemption relating to the transfer of digital tokens for investments offered to the public, in compliance with the operation of digital asset businesses law.      For more details, please see http://bit.ly/48pYCxn      2. The qualifications, criteria, procedures, and conditions for the registration of tax agents      The Revenue Department has issued regulations on the qualifications, criteria, procedures, and conditions for the registration of tax agents. These regulations stipulate the characteristics of […]

 Tax Newsletter Dharmniti Law Office Co., Ltd.   Issue No. 147, in October 2023   Tax Law Updates      1. The criteria and conditions of income tax, value-added tax, specific business tax and stamp duty exemptions for monetary donations made to educational institutions through the e-Donation payment channel      The Notification of the Director-General of the Revenue Department (Issue No. 50) sets out the criteria and conditions applicable to the income tax, value-added tax, specific business tax and stamp duty exemption for monetary donations made to educational institutions through the e-Donation payment channel. This tax exemption under this Notification shall be effective from 1 January 2023 through until 31 December 2024.      For more details, please see https://bitly.ws/Wp38      2. The criteria, procedures, and conditions relating to a corporate income tax exemption on subsidies received from the government to support electric vehicles      The Notification […]

 Tax Newsletter Dharmniti Law Office Co., Ltd. Issue No. 145, in August 2023   Tax Law Updates      1. The form for requesting a tax refund under the petroleum income tax law application      The Notification of the Director-General of the Revenue Department regarding Petroleum income tax (Issue No.7) stipulates the tax return form and the place to submit the tax return for petroleum income tax. The specified tax return forms are Form Kor. 10, which is the request for a tax refund, and Form P.NG.P.70, which is the statement of petroleum income tax. These forms are utilized specifically for requesting a refund of the tax.      For more details, please see https://bitly.ws/Vh8v Tax News Updates   –   Highlighted Supreme Court Judgment   Supreme Court Judgment No. 5605/2530   Between                       Mr. V.                                                                            Plaintiff and            […]

 Tax Newsletter Dharmniti Law Office Co., Ltd.   Issue No. 144, in July 2023   Tax Law Updates      1. Income tax exemption for unitholders in property funds and an exemption for value-added tax, specific business tax and stamp duty for property funds      Royal Decree (Issue No. 763) B.E. 2566 stipulates an income tax exemption for unitholders in property funds as well as exemptions relating to value-added tax, specific business tax, and stamp duty for such funds. This exemption applies to the value of tax bases, income, or instruments arising from the conversion of property funds into trust funds, effective from 2 June 2023 (the date that the Royal Decree was enforced) up until 31 December 2024.      For more details, please see https://bitly.ws/UdNv      2. Income tax exemption for the Islamic Bank Asset Management Company Limited      Royal Decree (Issue No. 764) B.E. […]