{
  "id": 17159159,
  "title": "Thailand Plans New Transparency Rules for Digital-Platform Fees",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/thailand-plans-new-transparency-rules-for-digital-platform-fees",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-30T01:48:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Thailand Business News",
    "slug": "thailand-business-news",
    "url": "https://www.thailand-business-news.com/trade/336659-thailand-moves-to-tighten-digital-platform-fees-amid-sme-concerns"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Thailand's competition regulator is crafting new rules to compel major digital platforms to clarify their fee-setting processes, following complaints from restaurants, small businesses, and delivery riders. The focus lies on business-to-business relationships within sectors such as food delivery and ride-hailing. Rather than imposing a direct fee cap, the regulator aims to enhance transparency and allow easier scrutiny of fee increases.\n\nA 30-day public consultation on the draft rules commenced on October 21st and will continue until November 20th, 2026. The proposal mandates covered platforms to disclose and justify alterations to commissions and other service charges. The regulator asserts that the aim is to achieve greater transparency and fair competition, not to impose blanket fee limits.\n\nThe Trade Competition Commission endorsed the draft on October 19th. Following the consultation, the regulator plans to reassess the proposal on November 23rd, with the final announcement scheduled for December 4th and enforcement slated for December 18th, contingent on publication in the Royal Gazette.\n\nThe draft encompasses five categories of charges, including service fees, revenue-sharing arrangements, additional benefits, and waiting charges. Platforms will be required to explain fee changes by attributing them to factors such as operating costs and technology investments. The regulator has received 37 complaints, with around 90% of them concerning gross-profit or GP fees. Eight rounds of fee increases have been identified between April and August 2026.\n\nLarge e-commerce marketplaces will be subject to a distinct regulatory approach due to their differing business models from delivery and ride-hailing platforms. The rules will primarily target platforms with significant market power, rather than applying uniformly to all providers. For smaller businesses, enhanced transparency could aid budgeting and empower them to contest unexplained charges. However, transparency does not guarantee lower commission rates or restored margins; the impact hinges on implementation, enforcement, and the availability of alternative platforms.\n\nThe importance of this development lies in the growing significance of digital platforms as sales and distribution channels for Thai SMEs. More predictable fee structures could assist smaller firms in managing cash flow and safeguarding margins, albeit the proposal does not promise lower operating costs.",
  "summary": "Thailand’s competition regulator is preparing new rules requiring major digital platforms to explain how they set and change commissions and service charges, responding to complaints from restaurants, small businesses and delivery riders.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}