On 28 October, Thailand's Ministry of Commerce announced that mandatory fees on Shopee, TikTok Shop and Lazada will return to the rates in effect on 1 January 2026 until 31 May 2027; the Ministry has also begun studying revisions to platform competition rules.
The Fee Cut: Rates Back to Start-of-Year Levels
The Trade Competition Commission addressed the platforms' fee increases by suspending them for six months. The Department of Internal Trade reached agreement with the three platforms that mandatory fees will return to the rates in effect on 1 January 2026, expected to save sellers about THB 1.93 billion (approx. RMB 420 million). The Director-General of the Department of Internal Trade gave the implementation period as 1 December 2026 to 31 May 2027. The adjusted fee ranges are:
Shopee: from 8.03%-19.26% to 8.03%-13.91%;
TikTok Shop: from 13.38%-21.94% to 11.24%-17.66%;
Lazada: from 9.00%-17.50% to 7.50%-11.60%.
The Ministry of Commerce said it will use the six months to gather views from all parties and draft a Digital Platform Economy Act. Sellers can call the Department of Internal Trade hotline 1569 or the Department of Business Development hotline 1570 for enquiries.
Platform Rules: Studying Transparency of Ranking and Recommendations
On 29 October, the Minister of Commerce said the Ministry will study the transparency of platform ranking and recommendation algorithms, and assigned the Office of the Council of State, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the Office of the Trade Competition Commission, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance to jointly study gaps in current law. The Minister also said that merchants buying advertising and running promotions is a normal commercial mechanism, and the focus is on whether ranking criteria are transparent. No timetable or specific provisions have been published.
Key Points
Mandatory fees on the three platforms return to 1 January 2026 rates, for the period 1 December 2026 to 31 May 2027.
Sellers are expected to save about THB 1.93 billion.
The Ministry of Commerce plans to draft a Digital Platform Economy Act and study the transparency of ranking and recommendations.
There is no timetable or text yet for revised platform competition rules.
Z&X Insight
Platform sellers in Thailand can use this adjustment to recalculate fees and gross margins on each platform. Invoices and withholding tax certificates for platform fees should also be collected and recorded monthly, so that the fees remain deductible for tax purposes. Z&X Accounting & Tax Outsourcing Services handle monthly bookkeeping and VAT and withholding tax filings, and can help e-commerce businesses reconcile platform statements with their accounts and tax filings.
Sources
The Ministry of Commerce's statements differ between "at least six months" and specific start and end dates; the implementation period is subject to announcements by the competent authorities.
One on one exclusive financial and tax consultation
