Thailand has introduced new regulatory guidance requiring digital platform operators to adopt structured, transparent, and fair fee practices. On March 16, 2026, the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) published Announcement No. DPS 2/2569, titled “Guidelines for Transparency and Fairness in Digital Platform Service Fee Determination,” issued under the Royal Decree on Digital Platform Service Business Operations B.E. 2565 (2022). The guidelines establish a framework governing how digital platform operators should set, disclose, and adjust fees charged to users and related service providers such as logistics and payment providers.
Although framed as best-practice guidance rather than legally binding rules with explicit penalties, the guidelines carry regulatory weight under the royal decree and represent a significant step toward structured governance of digital platform fee practices in Thailand.
The guidelines establish various transparency principles and divide fees into two distinct categories—compulsory and additional—with specific governance principles for each.
Transparency Principles
The guidelines recommend that digital platform operators adopt several transparency measures to ensure that users can fully understand the costs of using a platform.
- Fee catalog. All fees should be consolidated into a single, accessible location, which should include the fee name, definition, scope of covered services, calculation methodology, rate, billing period, and calculation examples.
- Minimum service disclosure. Operators should disclose the minimum service that users can expect, such as baseline visibility, product listing capabilities, access to transaction data, and back-end dashboard access.
- Price structure disclosure. Operators should disclose the categories of costs underlying their fees, such as system maintenance, cybersecurity, and operational costs. While exact cost figures need not be made public, operators should be able to provide numerical data to regulators upon request.
- Clear fee formulas. Fee calculations should be simple and easy to understand—for example, percentage of net sales, cost per order, or cost per product listing. Operators should avoid multilayered or stacked fee formulas that may mislead users.
- Advance notice. Operators should notify users at least 15 days in advance of any fee change, disclosing the reason, scope, potential impact on users, and channels for inquiries and feedback.
Compulsory Fees
Compulsory fees cover services essential to basic platform operations, such as transaction processing, payment systems, identity verification, back-end systems, security, and basic customer service. Key recommendations include the following:
- “1 activity = 1 fee” principle. Each fee should correspond to a clearly defined service scope, with no double-charging.
- Cost-based logic. Fees should be justifiable by reference to cost categories, though detailed cost figures need not be publicly disclosed.
- Minimum service guarantee. Users who pay compulsory fees are entitled to stable systems, baseline visibility, basic customer support, and access to essential data.
- No conditional linkage. Basic rights should not be degraded if a user declines to purchase advertising or add-on services. For example, product visibility should not be reduced for users who do not purchase advertising.
Additional Fees
Additional fees include value-added services such as advertising, sales promotions, and subscription packages that enhance business performance beyond the baseline. Governance recommendations for additional fees include the following:
- No impact on core benefits. Declining add-on services should not reduce baseline visibility or degrade basic system performance.
- Value-based pricing. Fees should reflect measurable outcomes, such as impressions or search ranking improvement.
- Optional, not mandatory. The purchase of add-on services should be voluntary, with no coercive bundling or pressure to purchase.
- Unbundling principle. Basic and add-on services should not be mixed in ways that force users to purchase unnecessary bundles.
Common Principles for All Fee Types
Regardless of category, the guidelines recommend several overarching principles applicable to all fees:
- Minimum service standards. Each fee type should be linked to clearly defined minimum service levels, including baseline data access, standard visibility, and appropriate service periods.
- 15-day public consultation. Before any fee adjustment, operators should open a minimum 15-day consultation period, which should be accompanied by a summary of key issues, impacts, and the operator’s response to any feedback.
- Fee challenge mechanism. Operators should maintain a formal process allowing users to dispute fees, with clear timelines, response procedures, and reasoning.
- Fair exit. Cancellation procedures, especially for monthly or annual subscriptions, should be clear, reasonable, and free of excessive penalties.
Implications for Digital Platform Operators
Under the new guidelines, digital platform operators—particularly e-commerce marketplaces, food delivery apps, and similar intermediary platforms—may need to make significant operational and legal adjustments, and should review their current fee structures, disclosure practices, and terms of service for alignment with these guidelines. Key priorities include the following:
- Preparing a consolidated fee catalog
- Developing advance-notice and consultation procedures for fee changes
- Implementing fee-dispute mechanisms
- Ensuring internal cost-allocation records can be produced for regulators on request
In addition, the “1 activity = 1 fee” principle and unbundling requirements may force operators to unbundle existing combined fee packages and justify pricing with cost-based or value-based rationale. The prohibition on conditional linkage, such as suppressing product visibility for users who do not buy ads, directly limits a common monetization strategy and may affect revenue models.
