Foreign Business License: Installation, Repair, and Maintenance Services

A common business activity for foreign multinationals that set up business operations in Thailand is installation, repair, and maintenance services. This refers to the installation, repair and maintenance of machinery, tools, and equipment used in the manufacturing process. However, this business activity falls within the scope of Category (21) of List Three of the Foreign Business Act of 1999. Therefore, it is a business activity in which foreign nationals must apply for permission in the form of a Foreign Business License from the Director-General of the Department of Business Development (with approval of the Foreign Business Committee according to Section 17) of the Act before operating business. In considering the application, the government goes by the following guidelines:

• Generally, the applicant must be offering services to users or distributors of its products, which would be the machinery, tools, or equipment used in the manufacturing process or customers or distributors of products produced by companies in the applicant’s corporate network.
• If the applicant is engaging in a business in which Thai nationals already have the necessary knowledge, skills, or experiences to offer the services, then only one service center is allowed to be established either at the head office or a branch office.
• If the applicant is engaging in a business in which Thai nationals lack the necessary knowledge, skills, or experiences to offer the services, then more than one service center may be established as permitted by the Foreign Business Committee.
• Products that have already been granted permission by the Foreign Business Committee for businesses offering installation, repair, and maintenance services are as follows:
• Products in the motor vehicle industry
• Products in the electronics industry or lighting industry
• Products in the machinery industry
• Products in the medical devices or tools industry
• The applicant must offer specific information regarding their business, such as information related to the product, particularly its technology and complexity, its industrial uses and purposes, the relationship between the applicant and the product (i.e. it must be demonstrate that the applicant or a company in its corporate network is the producer or distributor of the product), details regarding the specific intended companies that will be receiving services from the applicant, details regarding any distributors of the product, as well as an explanation of the business procedure.

Foreign companies that intend to establish business operations in Thailand in order to provide installation, repair, and maintenance services for their goods face complex bureaucracy and legal rules. Therefore, it is advised that competent legal counsel be consulted in order to understand the most efficient way to proceed.

 

Category: Administrative Law, Business in Thailand