Department of Business Development (DBD)
The Department of Business Development (the “DBD”) (in Thai: กรมพัฒนาธุรกิจการค้า) is one of the Thai government agencies that most Thais and foreigners doing businesses in Thailand have to deal with most frequently. This article explains, in a nutshell, what the DBD is and what its responsibilities are. The origin of the DBD can be traced back to 1924 when the Department of Commercial Registration (in Thai: กรมทะเบียนการค้า) was established by a royal proclamation of King Rama VI, after the Ministry of Commerce was established in 1920. The agency’s name was changed to its current name when the Government Re-organization Act was enacted in 2002. Together with six other department-level agencies, the DBD is under the supervision of (but at the same time is a separate legal entity from) the Thai Ministry of Commerce (the “MOC”), and is located within the MOC complex in Nonthaburi Province (just north of Bangkok). The DBD is primarily responsible for regulating and enforcing the following laws:
- the Civil and Commercial Code, Book III, Title XXII (the law on partnerships and private limited companies);
- the Public Limited Companies Act;
- the Trade Associations Act;
- the Chambers of Commerce Act;
- the Act Prescribing Offences relating Registered Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, Limited Companies, Foundations and Associations (commonly referred to as the Corporate Offences Act);
- the Commercial Registration Act;
- the Accounting Act;
- the Accounting Professions Act; and
- the Foreign Business Operations Act (the “FBA”)