This is from last weeks stickmanbangkok.com weekly column. Submitted by sunbelt legal services.
www.stickmanweekly.com/StickmanBangkokWeeklyColumn2010/Bangkok-Legends.htmDoes that mean the pickup truck counts as physical office address?
2 million baht capital? Hmm I'm sure these guys have that.
4 thai employees. Umm
Registered with 51% of the shares of the company to a thai?
Vat? Taxes? Registered?
Sunbelt Legal responds: There are different forms of
business entities available for
foreigners depending on the
purpose of the business. A
company limited or corporation
is only one of these forms. You may set up Sole Proprietorship
(restricted for foreigners unless
applied through certain Treaties
such as Amity Treaty but will
still pose certain complications
with new work permit applications), Partnership,
Company Limited or
Corporation, Foundation and
Association or even a Regional/
Representative office.
Needless to say, these forms of business entities vary on
structure and purpose, including
liability. A Corporation or
Company Limited among the
above forms, is usually the most
convenient and safest way to conduct a profit-making
business in Thailand due to the
protection of its shareholders
regarding liabilities, profit and
loss. A Corporation or
Company Limited can be either public or private in nature. A
public company is often listed
on the stock exchange and
typically has unlimited liability.
Privately owned companies
have limited liability and are often signified by the term "Co.,
Ltd" controlled by a "Managing
Director". MD is commonly
referred to as CEO or President
in western terminologies. Part of the requirement in
registering a company is a
business address alongside
with the name of the company
and the promoters. You may
register your company at any given address. However, for
purposes of work permit and
VAT registration, this has to be
a physical office space and
preferably a commercial one
rather than a residential address. One of the
requirements of the work permit
being that the registered capital
of the company must be 2
million baht. This is not just
limited to cash; it may be in other forms of assets such as
land, building space, car,
equipments and the like. As a
foreigner, you are only limited
to maximum 49% ownership of
shares in the company; 51% must be owned by a Thai
shareholder, unless you apply
for certain licenses (FBL, Amity
etc) which can be costly and
lengthy in process. There are
still other ways in which you can gain control of the company
despite having minimal shares
in the company. Our expert
legal advisors can advise you
further on that. The 4 Thai
employees are both an Immigration requirement and a
Labour Department requirement
per one work permit applicant.
The Thai government strictly
imposes sanctions for using
nominees to fill this requirement. They have to be
registered under the Social
Security Fund as this is one
major proof that you have Thai
employees; they benefit from it
by means of having free medication through the chosen
government hospital in cases of
accidents and illnesses.
