Employer social security registration procedures simplified

Effective from 16 October 2019, when a new company is registered with the Department of Business Development (DBD), it will also be registered as an employer with the Social Security Office (SSO).

The company’s social security registration number will be the 13 digit company registration number issued by the DBD.

This development adds to the single service platform currently operated by the DBD in co-operation with other agencies. When a new company registers with the DBD, it is also automatically registered with the Revenue Department and its 13 digit company registration number is its tax ID number.

Registration as an employer with the SSO previously took place after the company employs its first employee. At the time of registration, there were a number of supporting documents that had to be supplied and the employer’s place of business may be visited prior to approving registration. It will be interesting to see if there is any relaxation in approach as a result of the automatic registration with the DBD.

This reduction in registration procedures for a new business should help Thailand improve its ranking against other countries, in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report in 2020. The ease of doing business ranking is a measure of how much the regulatory environment has changed relative to other economies. One of the topics considered is the ease of starting a business, with the indicators measured including the number of procedures, the time taken and costs. The registration fees for establishing a company in Thailand were reduced in 2018.