From September 1, 2021, foreign e-Service providers and e-Platform operators must register for and pay VAT in Thailand.

After approximately a decade drafting general personal data protection laws and formulating a regime to protect personal data and privacy rights, Thailand finally issued the country’s first unified personal data protection legislation in 2019. The public was surprised when the draft Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) was published for the final round of hearings. The draft PDPA largely adopted the preeminent personal data protection standards as expressed in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The government expressed its objective to enhance personal data protection standards in Thailand to meet international standards, which would permit cross border transfers of personal data to Thailand, without any material limitations. The PDPA, which was finally published in the Government Gazette in May 2019, also established a new independent regulator, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), tasked with enforcing the PDPA. All members of the commission must possess the qualifications required by the PDPA. The PDPA was enacted with a grace period of one year for the requirements relating to the processing of personal data—which would provide businesses with sufficient time to adjust their practices to ensure compliance with the new requirements. It is a significant undertaking for businesses to adjust from having no general law on data protection to being required to meet high international data protection standards comparable to those in the GDPR. GPDR concepts that were incorporated into the PDPA include (1) purpose limitation, (2) transparency, (3) lawfulness and fairness, and (4) data minimization. When collecting personal data, data controllers are required to establish a lawful basis to allow for such collection and processing of personal data. The lawful bases for general personal data are also similar to those under the GDPR, with concepts such as contractual necessity, legal obligation, legitimate interest, vital interest, and consent. Special types of personal data, such as

On January 26, 2021, the Thai government passed a resolution to reduce the government fees that are generally collected for the registration of a sale and mortgage of immovable property. The details of this were subsequently set out in two notifications issued by the Ministry of Interior and published in the Government Gazette on February 2, 2021, taking effect the following day. The notifications will remain in effect through December 31, 2021. These two notifications, which are part of the government’s relief efforts to soften the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, specify that government fees for the registration of a sale and mortgage of immovable property are reduced to 0.01% of the official assessed sale price (reduced from 2%) and 0.01% of the mortgage amount (reduced from 1%). In order to qualify for the reduced rates, the sale and mortgage must be registered at the same time, and the sale price and mortgage amount must not exceed THB 3 million (approximately USD 100,000). The reduced rates only apply to the sale and mortgage of detached houses, semi-detached houses, row houses, commercial buildings, and condominium units, and they must be sold by a licensed developer or authorized government authority. For more information on these notifications, or on any aspect of the Thai government’s COVID-19 relief measures, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected] or +66 2056 5555.

In Vietnam, divisional practice is fairly flexible.  Specifically, one or more divisional applications can be filed: (1) in response to a lack of unity rejection; and/or (2) at any time for any reason (e.g., voluntary divisionals are permitted).  

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ offices in Vietnam have contributed the Vietnam chapter to the Foreign Investment Review 2021, a global guide to the legal and regulatory environment for foreign investment in 25 jurisdictions worldwide. Published and distributed by Getting the Deal Through (GTDT), the guide discusses law and policy on oversight of foreign investment, regulatory frameworks, procedural requirements, and other important stipulations for foreign investors. The Vietnam chapter, which was authored by Phuong Thi Minh Tran, an attorney-at-law in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Ho Chi Minh City office, and Nam Ngoc Trinh, an attorney-at-law in the firm’s Hanoi office, covers the following topics: Law and Policy: Government policies and practices, main laws and their scope of application (including details on investment promotional measures), definitions, rules for state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds, relevant authorities and oversight, and national interest provisions. Procedure: Jurisdictional thresholds, national interest clearance, securing approval, the review process for competition clearance and associated penalties, involvement of authorities, facilitation of clearance, and post-closing regulatory powers. Substantive assessment: Substantive tests for clearance, authorities’ consultation with other countries and other relevant parties, transactional prohibitions and objections, mitigating arrangements and challenges to a decision, and protection of confidential information. Recent cases, updates, and trends: Relevant recent case law, key recent and ongoing developments. The Vietnam chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar chapters to Foreign Investment Review 2021. To browse all 25 jurisdictions covered by the guide, please visit the Getting the Deal Through website.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ office in Yangon have contributed the Myanmar chapter to the Foreign Investment Review 2021, a global guide to the legal and regulatory environment for foreign investment in 25 jurisdictions worldwide. Published and distributed by Getting the Deal Through (GTDT), the guide discusses law and policy on oversight of foreign investment, regulatory frameworks, procedural requirements, and other important stipulations for foreign investors. The Myanmar chapter, which was authored by attorney-at-law Nwe Oo and counsel Ross Taylor, covers the following topics: Law and Policy: Government policies and practices, main laws and their scope of application (including details on investment promotional measures), definitions, rules for state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds, relevant authorities and oversight, and national interest provisions. Procedure: Jurisdictional thresholds, national interest clearance, securing approval, the review process for competition clearance and associated penalties, involvement of authorities, facilitation of clearance, and post-closing regulatory powers. Substantive assessment: Substantive tests for clearance, authorities’ consultation with other countries and other relevant parties, transactional prohibitions and objections, mitigating arrangements and challenges to a decision, and protection of confidential information. Recent cases, updates, and trends: Relevant recent case law, key recent and ongoing developments. The Myanmar chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam chapters to Foreign Investment Review 2021. To browse all 25 jurisdictions covered by the guide, please visit the Getting the Deal Through website.

Dino Santaniello, head of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Vientiane office, has contributed the Laos chapter to the Foreign Investment Review 2021, a global guide to the legal and regulatory environment for foreign investment in 25 jurisdictions worldwide. Published and distributed by Getting the Deal Through (GTDT), the guide discusses law and policy on oversight of foreign investment, regulatory frameworks, procedural requirements, and other important stipulations for foreign investors. The Laos chapter, which aims to give investors an understanding of what to expect when establishing operations and operating in the Lao market, covers the following issues: Law and Policy: Government policies and practices, main laws and their scope of application (including details on investment promotional measures), definitions, rules for state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds, relevant authorities and oversight, and national interest provisions. Procedure: Jurisdictional thresholds, national interest clearance, securing approval, the review process for competition clearance and associated penalties, involvement of authorities, facilitation of clearance, and post-closing regulatory powers. Substantive assessment: Substantive tests for clearance, authorities’ consultation with other countries and other relevant parties, transactional prohibitions and objections, mitigating arrangements and challenges to a decision, and protection of confidential information. Recent cases, updates, and trends: Relevant recent case law, key recent and ongoing developments. The Laos chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam chapters to Foreign Investment Review 2021. To browse all 25 jurisdictions covered by the guide, please visit the Getting the Deal Through website.

Tilleke & Gibbins’ office in Phnom Penh has contributed the Cambodia chapter to the Foreign Investment Review 2021, a global guide to the legal and regulatory environment for foreign investment in 25 jurisdictions worldwide. Published and distributed by Getting the Deal Through (GTDT), the guide discusses law and policy on oversight of foreign investment, regulatory frameworks, procedural requirements, and other important stipulations for foreign investors. The Cambodia chapter was authored by Jay Cohen, partner and director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Phnom Penh office. The chapter focuses most closely on the law and policy section, which lays out the government’s policies and practices, the main investment laws and their scope of application, and the relevant authorities responsible for regulating mergers and similar transactions. Also discussed are some key recent and ongoing developments—particularly the drafting of a law to address competition issues and introduce greater scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions. The Cambodia chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam chapters to Foreign Investment Review 2021. To browse all 25 jurisdictions covered by the guide, please visit the Getting the Deal Through website.