Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) recently published BOI Notification No. Sor. 8/2564, which extends the scope of investment promotion covering electronic vehicle (EV) industry manufacturers to include the production of “automotive platforms” for electric vehicles, and creates a new category of BOI promoted activities covering the manufacture of electric bicycles (E-bikes). Automotive Platforms The following investment promotion categories have been extended: 4.24 – Manufacture of Battery Electric Vehicles 4.26 – Manufacture of Electric Battery Tricycles 4.27 – Manufacture of Electric Battery Busses and Trucks These categories now include the manufacture of “automotive platforms”—which must include an energy storage system, charging module, and front and rear axle module—benefiting from similar tax incentives and subject to additional conditions, as detailed below. New BOI Promotional Category for E-Bike Production The BOI has also introduced a new category, No. 4.28, covering the manufacture of E-bikes. Projects under this category will be eligible for a three-year CIT exemption with an additional one-year exemption if certain criteria are met. Applications for this category must cover the manufacture of E-bikes, the manufacture or sourcing of electric batteries, and a management plan for used batteries. In addition to the general conditions for EV projects (industrial standards, manufacturing timelines, etc.), the BOI has also imposed the following conditions specific to E-bike projects: E-bike frames must be produced from light-weight materials such as aluminum alloy, chromium–molybdenum alloy steel (chrome moly), titanium alloy, and carbon fiber; and E-bike batteries must adopt environmentally-friendly technology. Interestingly the BOI allows E-bike production lines to jointly use manufacturing lines for ordinary bicycles. However, the sale of ordinary bicycles is regarded as non-BOI-promoted income and will not be entitled to BOI tax incentives. These new provisions, intended to stimulate both local and foreign investments in the electric automotive industry, seem to complete the BOI promotion

The popularity of the franchise business model has grown rapidly in mainland Southeast Asia in recent years, with some of the world’s top brands becoming common sights in the commercial districts and shopping malls of major regional cities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Although these countries have not yet enacted franchising-specific laws, certain features of each country’s regulatory regime impact franchising. As such, well-prepared franchise business operations have comfortably adapted to each country’s regulatory framework, and the growth is poised to continue even as the global retail sector redesigns and redoubles its efforts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the franchise business model, which is both global and local at the same time, may offer retail entrepreneurs a solution in their quest to meet the challenges of the new retail economic realities. This article explains the legal frameworks that impact the franchise business model in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. For each country, this article discusses relevant regulatory considerations for franchise agreements, how to protect intellectual property rights, and judicial and arbitral procedures for resolving disputes that might arise between a franchisor and a franchisee. The full article can be downloaded through the button below.   © 2021. Originally published in the Franchise Law Journal, Vol. 41, No. 2, Fall 2021, by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association or the copyright holder.

In the last week of December, 2021, the Ministry of Justice published the Law Amending Certain Provisions of the Laws on Tax No. 01/NA, dated August 7, 2021, in the Government Gazette. The Law will come into force on January 1, 2022. The most notable amendments relate to Value Added Tax (VAT), which are summarized below. The new law also makes changes to the laws on tax management, income tax, and excise tax, which Tilleke & Gibbins will provide updates on in due course.

A new royal decree retains the current land and building tax rates, which have been in place since 2020, through the end of 2022.