Member Articles
Mediation: A Star in the Making as a Dispute Resolution Method for Commercial Disputes (Focus on Thailand) Article by Anne Coulon, Regional Legal Adviser, DFDL Thailand Mediation is a confidential, fast, flexible and cost-effective dispute resolution (“DR”) method based on the mutual consent of the involved parties. Companies, contractors, individuals, banks, real estate owners, governmental bodies; or any combination thereof may be parties to commercial mediation. Breaches of contract, business torts etc. can all be successfully submitted to and/or resolved through mediation... |
Key Considerations & Issues on COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts Across Southeast Asia With COVID-19 vaccination campaigns nearing completion or still in progress in various countries across Southeast Asia, our experts take this opportunity to look at some of the top questions and concerns on the minds of employers and employees when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination considerations... |
Managing Transfer Pricing Compliance Risk in Thailand On 21 November 2018, Thailand introduced a new transfer pricing law which became effective for the fiscal year commencing on 1 January 2019. Thereafter, the Thai Revenue Department (“TRD”) amended and revised the Thai Revenue Code by enacting Royal Decree No. 47 (“RD47”). Under RD47, companies established under Thai law are subject to TP documentation rules if they have annual turnover of at least THB 200 million (USD 6 million)... |
Thailand Re-opens for Tourism, Eases Travel Restrictions and Prepares to Welcome Vaccinated Visitors Back to Its Shores The Tourism Authority of Thailand (“TAT”) announced via the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 30 October 2021 that as of 1 November 2021, earlier COVID-19-related restrictions would be lifted in the case of four designated ‘Blue Zone’ provinces: Bangkok, Krabi, Phang-Nga, and Phuket... |
Cambodia: New Prakas on the Establishment and Management of Mandatory and Voluntary Taskforces for Fire Prevention and Firefighting The Ministry of Interior issued a new Prakas No. 2644 PK dated 19 October 2021 on the Establishment and Management of Mandatory and Voluntary Taskforces for Fire Prevention and Firefighting (“Prakas 2644”)... |
Philippines: Guidelines on the Submission of Monthly Reports of Private Employment Agency and Renewal of PEA Licenses in Light of the Pandemic Pursuant to the Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) Department Order Nos. 216 and 217, Series of 2020 (collectively, “Department Orders No. 216 and 217”), Private Employment Agencies (“PEAs”) are required to submit a hard copy of the monthly recruitment and placement reports to the appropriate Regional Office of the DOLE within seven (7) days after each reference month... |
Philippines: Guidelines on the Submission of Reports on Crimes and/or Losses by Banks and Non-Banks with Quasi-Banking Functions (NBQB) On 12 October 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”) issued Memorandum No. M-2021-72, to provide guidelines on the submission of the reports on crimes and/or losses (“RCL”). The following are the submission procedures under the Memorandum: Banks and NBQBs shall follow the existing manner of reporting a crime and/or loss incident, i.e... |
Philippines: BSP Reminds All BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions of the Analysis of Suspicious Transaction Reports with Possible Links to Tax Crimes and Real Estate Sector On 15 October 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”) issued Circular Letter No... |
Philippines: BIR Directs Monitoring and Verification of Tax Compliance of Online Merchants, Social Media Influencers and Other Businesses Operating Through Digital or Online Platforms On October 29, 2021, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (“BIR”) issued Revenue Memorandum Order No... |
Philippines: BSP Guidelines on Digitization of Customer Records Circular Letter No. CL-2021-080, issued on 18 October 2021 by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”), disseminates to all BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (“BSFI”) the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (“AMLC”) Guidelines on Digitization of Customer Records (“DIGICUR”) adopted via the AMLC Regulatory Issuance (“ARI”) A, B, and C, No. 2, Series of 2018... |
Philippines: Clarification on the Definition of Digital Bank The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”) in Memorandum No. M-2021-053 dated 13 October 2021 clarified the definition of “digital banks”. A digital bank refers to a bank which offers financial products and services that are processed end-to-end through a digital platform and/or electronic channels with no physical branch/sub-branch or branch-lite unit offering the same... |
Cambodia: Additional Measures to Support Private Sector Workers & Revive the Post-COVID-19 Economy (Round 10) On 28 October 2021, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) implemented ‘Round 10’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. In readiness for the economy re-opening Cambodia has been receiving vaccines through support and direct purchases from various manufacturers... |
Drones Regulatory Framework in Bangladesh – Top 5 Key Q&As The use of drones in the world is increasing very rapidly and plays an important role in optimizing processes across a various range of industries: agriculture, delivery services, infrastructure, mapping, military and so on. These machines are very efficient, effective, and safe tools for quality, safety and savings... |
Cambodia: Amendment of the Labour Law The 1997 Labour Law, previously amended in 2007 and 2018, was amended for the third time on 5 October 2021 with immediate effect (“Amended Labour Law”). The Amended Labour Law introduces several changes to the 1997 Labour Law, particularly provisions relating to employee working schedules, work on paid public holidays, individual disputes and the authority of the Labour Inspector... |
Thailand: AMLO Notification Calls for Stringent Customer ID Measures and KYC Procedures from 25 September 2021 Onward 28 January 2021 saw the release of a Notification Concerning Guidelines for the Identification and Verification of Customers and Ultimate Beneficial Owners (“AMLO Notification”) by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (“AMLO”)... |
Arbitration: the More Business Savvy, Practical International Bedfellow of Litigation in Thailand Article by Anne Coulon, Regional Legal Adviser, DFDL Thailand A stable, autonomous judiciary naturally commands the trust of a nation’s citizenry while inspiring confidence and peace-of-mind among foreign actors: this is crucial in terms of their investments and commercial activities, that they will receive fair and equal treatment whenever certain dealings come into dispute when doing business in the host country... |
Cambodia: Promulgation of the Law on Investment Overview On 15 October 2021, the New Law on Investment (“New Investment Law”) was promulgated, which aims to provide a comprehensive, transparent and predictable legal framework to attract both domestic and foreign investment. The New Investment Law replaces the existing 1994 Law on Investment and the 2003 Law on the Amendment to the Law on Investment (“Former Investment Law”) from its promulgation date (15 October 2021)... |
Philippines: NPC Warns the Public Against Smishing The National Privacy Commission (“NPC”) issued on 7 October 2021 NPC PHE Bulletin No. 21 advising the public against smishing and preventive data privacy practices. Smishing targets victims through mobile text messaging or SMS. Individuals usually receive unsolicited messages that include links that redirect to fraudulent websites which steal personal data, introduce mobile malware, and even facilitate the commission of fraud... |
Philippines: Taxing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations Republic Act (“RA”) No. 11590 amends the National Internal Revenue Code (“NIRC” or the “Tax Code”) to provide the taxing rules for offshore gaming operations. Taxation of Offshore Gaming Licensees Under RA No... |
Philippines: Final Extension of Deadline for Compliance with The Guidelines on Digitalization of Customer Records On 05 October 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”) issued Circular Letter (“CL”) No. 2021-72, disseminating to all BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (“BSFIs”) the AMLC Regulatory Issuance (“ARI”) No. 6-2021 on the final extension of the deadline for compliance with the Guidelines on Digitalization of Customer Records (“DIGICUR”). ARI No... |
Thailand: Foreign Investment Promotion Permitting Wealthy Foreigners to Buy Land and Houses On 14 September 2021, the Thai cabinet passed a resolution (“Cabinet Resolution”) proposed by the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (“CESA”) to incentivize foreign investment in Thailand through the issuance of new visa, tax, and foreign land ownership incentives. The CESA particularly aims to attract high net worth foreign nationals, who wish to invest in land and buildings, and who can meet these minimum qualifications: 1... |
Cambodia: Competition Law Enacted Cambodia’s long-awaited Competition Law (“Law”) was signed into law by the King on 5 October 2021. While the Law has been enacted, the principal regulator, the Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC”) has not yet been appointed and it is not clear how the Law will be enforced prior to a) such appointment and b) the issue of required regulatory instruments and decisions... |
Cambodia: Increase in Minimum Wage for 2022 – Garment, Textile, Footwear, Travel Product & Bag Sectors On 28 September 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued Prakas 264 on the Determination of Minimum Wage for Workers in the Garment, Textile, Footwear, Travel Product and Bag Sectors (“Prakas 264”), to set new minimum wage for 2022, which will be effective from 1 January 2022. Under Prakas 264, workers in the relevant sectors will be entitled to the following new minimum wage: For regular workers, USD 194 per month... |
Thailand: Overseas E-Commerce or Online Platforms Must Now Pay VAT on Services Supplied to Consumers in Thailand On 10 February 2021, the Royal Thai Government Gazette announced the Act Amending Revenue Code No.53 (the “Act”). This Act stipulates that overseas electronic service providers and online platforms must now register for and pay VAT on electronic services, delivered over the internet or other electronic networks (“Electronic Services”) supplied to non-VAT registered consumers in Thailand. This VAT applies to such transactions from 1 September 2021 onward... |
Cambodia: 2022 Foreign Employee Quota Application Window Now Open The window to apply for the 2022 foreign employee quota is open until the end of November 2021. Enterprises employing or intending to employ foreign employees in 2022 are required to apply for a foreign employee quota from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”)... |
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