The Thai Factor Association (TFA) has urged the Finance Ministry to set up a legal framework to guide and set service standards for the factoring business in Thailand. Currently, factoring is governed by the commercial and civil code. Although the Commerce Ministry supervises the factoring business as a general trading service, the Revenue Department collects a 3.3% specific business tax from the business as it considers factoring a financial service. At present, each company offering factoring business manages its own risks and sets its own interest rates. The TFA spokesperson believes that the new law should set interest-rate limits in ownership rights transfer concerning assets and reclassify the factoring business as a financial service. The new law should also encourage clear standards in terms of the capital and reserves required for factoring providers to account for all risks and losses, the spokesperson added.

The Government Gazette has announced that for any person who has disappeared during the Tsunami disaster in December 2004 and whose existence is in doubt, any interested party or public solicitor may request for a court order to declare this person as having disappeared. However, this is applicable only if the person in question has disappeared for five years.

The credit information business act which was first enacted in 2002 has recently been amended. Under this amended act, a Credit Information Protection Committee will be set up. Members of the credit information company will now have to notify their customers within a 30-day period if information pertaining to the customers is sent to the credit information company. Failure to do so will incur a fine not exceeding Bt500,000, in addition to a daily fine not exceeding Bt10,000 throughout the period of violation. A written consent must be obtained from any information owner if such information is disclosed by the credit information company for purpose of credit analysis and issuance of credit card. The penalty for not doing so is imprisonment not exceeding one year, or fine not exceeding Bt100,000 or both.

A spokesperson from the Fiscal Policy Office has disclosed that import tariffs on steel and petrochemicals will be incorporated into a new simplified tariff structure for industrial goods by next year. Currently, tariffs on raw materials and finished products for both industries averaged around 6-7 per cent. Authorities said that tariff protection is affecting downstream industries dependent on steel and petrochemical products adversely. Talks between the Finance Ministry and producers in both industries will be scheduled to discuss the new tariff rates and the need for tariff reforms to stimulate the country’s competitiveness in the long run. The Ministry would also implement tax cuts aimed at reducing average tariffs by up to 2% starting from this year. A new tax-structure framework for the next 10 years is also being drafted by the Ministry.

Four Royal Decrees will be released by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) this year in its bid to encourage electronic transactions, internet security and electronic commerce in Thailand. The first decree, which has been sent to the Cabinet for approval, covers electronic transactions in the private sector. The second decree, which will be ready by the third quarter of the year, involves electronic payment service providers. The Certification Authority Decree is the third decree which will give businesses the authority to certify electronic transactions. The last decree is the Information Security Decree which aims to create trust and security in internet transactions.

The government’s move to grant a series of property tax incentives is set to boost the demand for used houses by 20 per cent this year. These incentives include the exemption of the three-per-cent special business tax on home sales and the reduction in mortgage fees for buyers, from 1% to 0.01%. The transfer fees paid by buyers or sellers are also cut from 2% to 0.01%. In order to qualify for the tax and fee reductions, a homeowner must own the property for at least one year before selling the property. Home-sellers can also deduct up to bt50,000 of the capital gain from their taxable income if they buy another home within one year. The used-home market is expected to be worth a total of bt85 billion this year.

An associate professor from the Department of Biology at the Chulalongkorn University has commented that the time involved in registering a patent in Thailand is having a damaging effect on local innovators. Mr Wichai Cherdshewasart, who has been involved in the scientific development of Kwao Krua, has submitted three patent applications relating to the development of Kwao Krua to the Intellectual Property Department since 1998. He has yet to receive any decision from the Department. Kwao Krua is a herb well used by traditional Thai medicinal practitioners for its various properties, including breast-firming and treatment of erectile dysfunction. In the recent years, some Japanese companies have already patented Kwao Krua products in Japan and two US companies are also waiting for patent registrations to use Kwao Krua in their country. A source from the Intellectual Property Department has disclosed that it takes a minimum of three years for a patent to be processed on average.

Thailand and Burma joined eight other Asean countries in January in a regional treaty to combat transnational crime including terrorism. This treaty provides members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with the right to request and provide assistance in evidence collection for criminal investigations and proceedings. The idea of a regional treaty was first mooted by Malaysia, at a time where transnational crimes such as drug trafficking and migrant smuggling are increasingly prevalent in the Asean region.

A draft amendment to the emergency act which includes plea-bargaining has been completed, said the Deputy Prime Minister. The amendment would provide for reduced penalties for southern rebels who have confessed and thereby contributing to the peace-building process of the South. The emergency law has been in force in the violence-stricken southern region for the last six months and the National Security Council is seeking cabinet approval to extend the enforcement of the law by another three months.