Regional Offices for foreign NGOs or Not-for-Profit organizations are established under the rules, procedures and conditions of Thailand's Ministry of Labor.

The legal status of a Regional Office is the same as the legal status of the foreign NGO or NFP that establishes it, i.e. it's a branch office of the foreign NGO or NFP. But whilst a branch office in Thailand is subject to tax as a profit-seeking entity, a Regional Office of an NGO or NFP is not a profit-seeking entity under the Thai tax code (provided all the rules, procedures and conditions are complied with).

Permitted Activities

Thailand's Ministry of Labor prescribes the rules, procedures and conditions for a foreign NGO's or NFP's Regional Office and therein Thailand's MOL prescribes the permitted activities of the Regional Office in Thailand being:

• Establishing an office in Thailand;
• Posting foreign national personnel to Thailand;
• Providing financial assistance in Thailand;
• Conducting meetings, seminars and exhibitions in Thailand;
• Donating goods and equipment in Thailand; and
• Providing support to government agencies, state enterprises, Thai NGOs, Thai individuals and/or Thai juristic persons.

Thailand Tax Treatment

Provided an Office carries on its permitted activities only without carrying on any profit-seeking business activity, the Thailand tax treatment is as follows:

Corporate Income Tax		Exemption from corporate income tax
Profits Remittance Tax		Exemption from profits remittance tax
Specific Business Tax		Exemption from specific business tax
Value Added Tax		Exemption from value added tax

But because a Regional Office is a payer of assessable income and a person liable to stamp duty tax, it is required to comply with the obligations under the Revenue Code for:

Domestic Withholding Tax		Withholding tax on payments of income to recipients in Thailand
International Withholding Tax		Withholding tax on payments of income to recipients in foreign countries
Personal Withholding Tax		Personal withholding tax on payments of income to employees of the regional office
Stamp Duty Tax		Stamp duty tax on instruments

---