TCA Section 51 — Business combinations: notification and permission

Trade Competition Act

พระราชบัญญัติการแข่งขันทางการค้า · B.E. 2560 (2017)

The Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) is Thailand's competition statute and repeals the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2542 (1999) (Section 3). It is applied through the Trade Competition Commission (Section 17) and its Office (Section 27). It prohibits abuse of market dominance (Section 50), agreements between competitors in the same market that monopolise, reduce or restrict competition (Section 54), other anti-competitive agreements (Section 55) and unfair conduct that damages other business operators (Section 57). A business combination that may significantly reduce competition must be notified to the Commission within seven days after the combination, and one that may create a monopoly or market dominance needs the Commission's prior permission (Section 51). Breaches of Sections 50 and 54 are criminal offences (Section 72); breaches of Sections 55, 57 and 58 carry administrative fines (Section 82). The market-share and sales criteria for dominance and the merger thresholds are set by Commission announcement, not in the Act.