Consumer Protection Law Overview: Introduction to Thai Law

The Thailand Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 (1979) — in Thai, พระราชบัญญัติคุ้มครองผู้บริโภค — is the statute that governs advertising and misleading claims, alongside labelling, contract terms and consumer redress. Section 22 requires that an advertisement must not use statements that are unfair to consumers or that may cause harm to society as a whole, and its second paragraph deems five kinds of statement unfair: (1) statements that are false or exaggerated; (2) statements that will cause a misunderstanding in a material respect about the goods or service, whether or not that is done by using or citing academic reports, statistics or anything else untrue or exaggerated; (3) statements that directly or indirectly encourage an unlawful or immoral act, or that lead to the degradation of national culture; (4) statements that will cause division or damage unity among the public; and (5) any other statement prescribed by ministerial regulation. A closing paragraph carves out obvious puffery: wording that an ordinary person can tell could not possibly be true is not caught by (1). Section 23 adds that advertising must not use methods that may be dangerous to health, body or mind, or that may cause a nuisance to consumers, as prescribed by ministerial regulation, and section 26 allows the Advertising Committee to require that a piece of advertising be labelled as advertising. Where the Advertising Committee finds that an advertisement breaches section 22, 23, 24(1) or 25, section 27 lets it order the wording or method to be corrected, ban particular statements, prohibit the advertisement or the method outright, or order corrective advertising to undo a misunderstanding that consumers have already formed. On penalties, section 47 punishes intentionally causing a misunderstanding about the origin, condition, quality, quantity or other material aspect of goods or services — by advertising or by using a label carrying false statements, or statements the person knows or ought to know may mislead — with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to THB 100,000 or both, rising to one year and THB 200,000 on a repeat offence. Section 48 covers the lesser advertising breaches at up to three months or THB 60,000 or both. Where the offender is the owner of the advertising medium or the advertising operator, section 50 halves the penalty, and under section 51 a continuing offence attracts a further fine of up to THB 10,000 per day, or up to twice the amount spent on that advertising, for as long as the contravention continues. The Act also establishes the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) and sets out the consumer rights in section 4: correct and sufficient information, free choice, safety, fair contract terms, and consideration and compensation for damage. Consumers can complain to the OCPB or bring a case in the Consumer Case Procedure Court, which offers simplified procedures and reduced fees. Thailand has separate statutes for product liability and unfair contract terms. Section numbers and wording here follow the consolidated Thai text published by the Office of the Council of State; the Thai text governs and this is a plain-English summary, not an official translation.

This comprehensive guide provides an overview of consumer protection law in Thailand, covering key principles, relevant legislation, and practical considerations for anyone navigating the Thai legal system.