Thailand moves to tighten oversight of platform fees amid SME concerns

Thailand’s competition regulator is moving to tighten oversight of fees charged by major digital platforms, requiring dominant operators to explain changes in commission and service charges as the government seeks greater protection for small businesses and riders.

The move forms part of the government’s policy to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun working with the Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) on measures aimed at preventing smaller businesses from being placed at an unfair disadvantage.

The measures cover commission or revenue-sharing charges commonly referred to in Thailand as GP fees, including those imposed on restaurants using food-delivery platforms, while separate oversight is being developed for major e-commerce marketplaces.

Trade Competition Commissioner Worawan Chitarun said the competition authority’s role was not primarily consumer protection, but regulating business-to-business relationships to promote free and fair competition.

She said the rules had to balance the interests of all parties, recognising that platforms needed to make profits while businesses and service providers using them also needed to remain viable.

Draft rules target major ride-hailing and delivery platforms

The Trade Competition Commission approved a draft announcement on October 19 covering the structure of service charges in digital-platform ecosystems for public ride-hailing and on-demand delivery services.

A 30-day public consultation runs from October 21 to November 20, after which the draft is scheduled to return to the commission for consideration on November 23.

The chairman is expected to sign the announcement by December 4, with enforcement targeted by December 18 following publication in the Royal Gazette.

The proposed rules would regulate the structure of five categories of charges levied by platforms, including service fees, other benefits, revenue shares and waiting charges.

Platforms covered by the rules would have to disclose information and provide reasonable explanations for setting or changing charges, including factors such as operating costs or technology investment.

Worawan stressed that the measure was not intended to set or cap GP rates, but to make fee structures and changes more transparent and open to scrutiny.

Focus on platforms with substantial market power

The draft would focus on large platforms with significant market power rather than applying equally to every provider.

The approach is intended to leave room for smaller and medium-sized operators, particularly new entrants, to compete and to encourage a more diverse platform market.

Under the criteria described in the proposal, operators with market shares of at least 10% and no more than 33% could be regarded as having market power, while those above 33% could be considered dominant, subject to other relevant factors.

On-demand delivery platforms can involve several groups in the same transaction, including riders, restaurants and customers.

Worawan said this multi-sided structure made the sector more complicated than conventional businesses, with fees potentially affecting more than one participant. Delivery systems may also combine several orders into a single journey, creating additional issues involving trip and waiting payments.

“The objective of the announcement is to make platform charges more transparent and verifiable, while creating greater fairness for businesses and service providers involved,” she said.

GP fees dominate complaints to regulator

Worawan said about 90% of complaints submitted to the commission by riders and restaurants concerned GP fees.

The authority had received 37 complaints in total, including some involving bundled orders.

She said platforms had increased fees without adequately explaining the reasons, with eight rounds of increases identified between April and August 2026. The cases remain under consideration.

Current reporting confirms that the regulator is seeking explanations on fee structures from major operators including Grab, LINE MAN and Bolt.

E-commerce platforms face separate scrutiny

Multi-sided e-commerce marketplaces such as Shopee and Lazada will be dealt with under a separate regulatory approach because their business models and market structures differ from ride-hailing and delivery services.

The platforms act as intermediaries connecting two or more groups of users, such as sellers and buyers.

Worawan said the regulator did not intend to dictate prices, but wanted to ensure fair competition. Platforms raising fees should be able to explain why increases were necessary and whether the reasons were justified, particularly because SMEs and individual service providers could be directly affected.

The regulator is also using powers under Section 60 of the Trade Competition Act 2017 in its oversight of e-commerce platforms including Shopee, Lazada and TikTok.

According to a Trade Competition Commission report cited by Bangkok Biz News, Shopee increased its GP-related charges 10 times between 2022 and 2026, with the cumulative increases reported at 433%, while Lazada made seven increases totalling 367%. TikTok’s fee changes were still being examined.

The reported figures have become part of the regulator’s examination of whether major platforms are using their bargaining power in ways that disadvantage smaller businesses.

Worawan said the aim was not to prevent platforms from adjusting charges, but to ensure that any changes could be justified and that competition remained fair for businesses of different sizes.

Source: Krungthep Turakij