A recent notification (No. 20/2022) from Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance requires all companies and organizations in Myanmar, including nonprofits, to apply for a taxpayer identification number (TIN) by June 30, 2022, or within 90 days of establishment. TINs were stipulated in the Tax Administration Law 2019, but up until this notification there had been no clear mandatory implementation. The notification, which took effect on April 1, 2022, signals the government’s intention to improve tax management tasks in the country, offer more efficient tax services, and streamline taxpayer registration procedures in Myanmar. The section of the Tax Administration Law about TINs states that the Internal Revenue Department is responsible for determining and issuing each TIN. In accordance with this, the notification requires that any entity that was formed and registered (i.e., at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, or—for nonprofits—at any government department or organization) before April 1, 2022, must apply for a TIN by June 30, 2022. Those established or registered on or after April 1, 2022, are to apply for a TIN within 90 days of registration. After registering for a TIN, taxpayers must use the number for all tax-related purposes—including income tax, commercial tax, and special excise tax—as well as for liaising with the Internal Revenue Department (e.g., to submit tax returns), making payments, importing goods, applying for exporter and importer licenses, and conducting business transactions (e.g., tenders). For more details on these TIN requirements or any aspect of taxation regulations in Myanmar, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

On February 15, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet approved in principle a package of incentives to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Thailand, with the aim of making the country an EV manufacturing hub in Asia. A week later, the cabinet approved further draft regulations including specific information on customs duty reductions and exemptions for certain types of imported EVs. The plan includes both tax and non-tax incentives from 2022 until 2025. In the first two years (2022–2023), the package incentivizes the widespread use of EVs in Thailand by providing exemption or reduction of import duties and excise tax, as well as subsidies to increase the demand for EVs and attract investment in the EV industry. These incentives will cover the importation of completely built up (CBU) cars and motorcycles, and the local manufacturing of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles in Thailand. For the following two years (2024–2025), the plan promotes the use of domestically produced EVs by eliminating the exemption or reduction of import duties for CBU vehicles while maintaining the other incentives (e.g., reduced excise tax rates, and subsidies). The aim of this is to make the cost of CBU vehicles higher than locally produced vehicles to encourage operators to produce EVs in the country to meet increasing demand. Additional measures encourage the manufacturing of EVs in Thailand, including exemption of import duties for parts imported between 2022 and 2025, and treatment of the value of imported battery cells as a cost of local manufacturing (up to 15% of an EV’s retail price). This is beneficial to local manufacturers of EVs, as their activities will be entitled to a more generous incentive package than importation of EVs. At their meeting on February 22, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet further approved draft subordinate regulations, including specific reductions and exemptions of customs duty

As internet availability and speeds have taken off in Thailand, more and more consumers in the country have adjusted their behavior by purchasing products through websites and online applications. However, they sometimes find that not all transactions turn out as expected. As online sales have increased, the number of disputes over these transactions has also continued to grow. Local news outlets are now reporting on the latest official response to this trend: a new division of the Civil Court designed to cope with the growing number of disputes from online transactions. The Honorable Chief Justice Piyakul Boonperm, president of Thailand’s Supreme Court, is aiming to expand internet shoppers’ access to justice by setting up a special division to work on cases involving online transactions. The announcement of the formation of this division was published in the Government Gazette on December 20, 2021, and the Civil Court announced shortly after that it would start operating on January 27, 2022. The announcement does not affect cases filed prior to January 27, 2022, and does not revoke plaintiffs’ rights to file cases through alternative legal means. The special division handles only disputes between buyers and sellers in an online transaction over a legal right or obligation related to consumption of goods or services in accordance with section 3(1) of the Consumer Procedural Act B.E. 2551 (2008) on what the law called “consumer cases.” This also includes bodies that can act on a consumer’s behalf by law, such as a consumer protection commission, association, or foundation approved by the Consumer Protection Commission. Only cases that can be handled remotely through the court’s electronic system fall within the scope of this announcement—cases that cannot be completely handled online will not be taken up by the new special division. Accordingly, parties must utilize the court’s