The government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 55/2021/ND-CP (Decree 55) on May 24, 2021, to amend and supplement penalties for administrative violations against environmental protection regulations.

Lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins in Bangkok have updated the Thailand section of the Digital Business Global Guide, a Q&A-style guide from Thomson Reuters Practical Law that provides detailed information on the regulatory environment surrounding digital business operations in 38 countries around the world. The Thailand overview covers the following main topics: Regulatory overview Setting up and running a business online Cybersecurity, data privacy, and data protection implications Linking Domain names Jurisdiction and governing law Advertising/marketing Tax Protecting an online business Liability for products/services supplied online Insurance Reform Practical Law, produced by Thomson Reuters, is the world’s leading legal know-how resource for business lawyers, publishing a huge range of guides covering hundreds of jurisdictions and practice areas. The full Digital Business in Thailand: Overview is available on the Practical Law website.

On March 16, 2021, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued Decision No. 10/2021/QD-TTg updating the criteria for identifying “high-tech enterprises,” which are eligible for certain incentives under Vietnam’s economic development strategy.

Like many countries, Thailand requires stamp duty to be paid on the execution of certain legal instruments. A liable person who fails to pay stamp duty on a required instrument can be subject to a maximum surcharge of six times the applicable stamp duty, and an instrument on which stamp duty has not been paid will not be admissible as evidence in civil cases (that is, it will have limited legal weight and enforceability). Before July 2019, there were three methods for paying stamp duty: Affixing adhesive stamps on the instrument (and canceling it by the liable person in order to make sure that the adhesive stamp duty cannot be reused); Having a stamp impressed on the paper instrument; or Filing a prescribed form and paying the duty by cash or cashiers cheque at an area revenue office. In addition to paying the correct amount of stamp duty, the law also requires that stamp duty on certain instruments be paid using a specific prescribed method from the list above. Failure to use the prescribed method would be considered as that the stamp duty not having been paid. For example, a hire-of-work instrument is subject to stamp duty, but if the remuneration stated within the agreement is at least THB 1,000,000 (approximately USD 33,500), the stamp duty must be paid by filing a prescribed form and paying by cash or cashier’s cheque at an area revenue office. Affixing adhesive stamp duty is not allowed in that circumstance. E-Stamp Duty In June 2019, the Revenue Department introduced a fourth method of paying stamp duty, allowing online payments in specific circumstances (e-Stamp Duty). After the launch of the e-Stamp Duty system, the Revenue Department issued a notification (Notification of the Director-General of Revenue concerning Stamp Duty (No. 58)) requiring stamp duty on