Thailand Legal News
Thailand General Election (25 May)
As the general was held on 14 May 2023, the official result announced by the Election Committee shows that the ‘Move Forward Party’ won over 151 seats from the total of 500 seats while Pheu Thai Party came in second with 141 seats. Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward Party, is expected to be the country’s next prime minister as a result of the coalition of 8 opposition parties, totalling over 313 seats, despite him being accused of violating the election law by holding media shares. However, the first meeting of the House of Representatives members is expected to take place near the end of July, and around mid-August for Cabinet formation as the election laws allow a period of over 60 days from the election (13 July 2023) for the Election Committee to certify the election result.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2573332/pita-announces-8-party-coalition-plan
BOT confirms the implementation of identity authentication measures for high-value transactions (19 May)
From 1 July 2023 onward, the transfer of funds for most banks via mobile banking exceeding THB 50,000 (approx. USD 1,400) per transaction or THB 200,000 (approx. USD 5,700) per day will require identity verification via facial recognition before the transaction can proceed. Users who did not have their biometric data recorded with the bank will need to authenticate their identity at the banks, atm, 7-11, or other places as specified by each individual bank for their biometrics data to be recorded to the system.
https://www.prachachat.net/finance/news-1310654
Cabinet Resolutions
Changes to battery electric vehicles BEV supporting measure (16 May)
Last year, the Cabinet approved the measure granting special tax privileges for the importation of electric vehicles into the country, and in return, importers must produce such imported models domestically within the specified period. The new regulation will allow more flexibility to the importers by lifting the restriction which requires vehicles that were imported. In doing so, importers can now produce different models of electric vehicles to compensate for the imported vehicles. However, the produced vehicles have to be in the same category as the imported one as specified by the National Electric Vehicle Board (e.g., 4-seat vehicle, 7-seat vehicle, etc.).
