Formal registration of companies has many immediate benefits for the companies and for business owners and employees. Legal entities can outlive their founders. Resources are pooled as several shareholders join forces to start a company. Formally registered companies have access to services and institutions from courts to banks as well as to new markets. And their employees can benefit from protections provided by the law. An additional benefit comes with limited liability companies. These limit the financial liability of company owners to their investments, so personal assets of the owners are not put at risk. Where governments make registration easy, more entrepreneurs start businesses in the formal sector, creating more good jobs and generating more revenue for the government.
Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Thailand. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.
This information was collected from World Bank: Doing Business
| No. | Procedure | Time to Complete | Associated Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apply for permission to use company name | 2 days | no charge or THB20 for applying application to the Registrar at the Department of Business Development ("DBD") |
| 2 | Deposit paid-in capital in a bank | 1 day | no charge |
| 3 | Obtain a corporate seal | 4 days | THB 400 |
| 4 | Get approval for memorandum of association, apply to register the company as a legal entity (final registration) and also submit company work regulations | 1 day for registration and 21 days for the approval of the work regulations | THB 750 (Fee for registration of memorandum of association, THB 500 minimum and THB 25,000 maximum for government fee and it shall be increased for THB 50 every THB 100,000 of initial capital) + THB 7,500 minimum (Fee for registration of the company, THB 5,000 minimum and THB 250,000 maximum for government fee and increased for THB 500 every THB 100,000 of initial capital)+ THB 200 (Stamp duty affixed on memorandum of association) + THB 200 (Stamp duty to be affixed on articles of association) + THB 100 (Certificate of Registration fee ) + THB 200 (Affidavit fee) + THB 50 per page for certification document fee. |