Opening A Restaurant Or Bar In Thailand

[marshbags]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday, November 30, 2008

OPENING A RESTAURANT OR BAR IN THAILAND I:

Approvals required

Expat Counsel

All foreigners come to Thailand with a dream. For some, the vision of owning and running a restaurant or bar in this exotic corner of the world is irresistible.

For those with a Thai partner, the reality is that often the ownership of the business is held in the name of the Thai. If you have friends who have bars or restaurants, you know that this is what the vast majority of foreigners end up doing.

Of course, putting everything in the name of a Thai has two distinct drawbacks - if the restaurant succeeds and the relationship doesn't, it is the Thai who owns everything. Also, without a work permit the foreign partner isn't supposed to work there and runs the risk of arrest and even deportation if the local labour authorities get wind of this.

But what if you really want to own what you create or don't want the risks mentioned above? What are the practicalities?

Every restaurant or bar that sells food must have the following permits:

A commercial registration certificate for the sale of goods and the provision of musical or karaoke services. The fee is up to 100 baht. This must be obtained from the Department of Business Development if your business is in Bangkok or the provincial registration office if it is outside of Bangkok.

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Ref Url for the rest of this article is :-

http://www.bangkokpost.com/301108_Spectrum...2008_spec51.php

marshbags

Edited November 30, 2008 by marshbags

[12DrinkMore]

This "James Finch" must pride himself on his excellent command of English. And looking over their website, with a humongous number of no less than 35 lawyers, a large of number which claim to have a "Farang Education", I am surprised that none of them could proof read the article.

For example:

"A permit to open a service establishment that sells food and/or liquor or provides music, karaoke or other entertainment from the police office in Bangkok or local sheriff's office outside of Bangkok. The fee is 50,000 baht."

I wonder what sort of entertainment the police office in Bangkok offer for 50,000 Baht?

But much more importantly,

WOULD YOU EMPLOY A LEGAL FIRM THAT OBVIOUSLY CANNOT CONSTRUCT A SIMPLE SENTENCE WHICH IS ACCURATE AND UNAMBIGUOUS?

Or maybe we should wait to to see the BIBS providing the entertainment?

"If applicable, a permit to open an entertainment establishment that shows videos, movies and the like from the local police office in Bangkok or the local sheriff's office outside of Bangkok"

Can't wait to see the vids. :D

Edited November 30, 2008 by 12DrinkMore

[JetsetBkk]

...WOULD YOU EMPLOY A LEGAL FIRM THAT OBVIOUSLY CANNOT CONSTRUCT A SIMPLE SENTENCE WHICH IS ACCURATE AND UNAMBIGUOUS?...

It's called "legalese" - a language deliberately designed to be ambiguous and used by lawyers all over the world so that any document written using it can mean whatever the reader expects, so that all future disagreements can be argued in court by those selfsame money grabbing b@st@rds.

What do you call 50 dead lawyers at the bottom of the sea? A good start.

[APMann]

...WOULD YOU EMPLOY A LEGAL FIRM THAT OBVIOUSLY CANNOT CONSTRUCT A SIMPLE SENTENCE WHICH IS ACCURATE AND UNAMBIGUOUS?...

It's called "legalese" - a language deliberately designed to be ambiguous and used by lawyers all over the world so that any document written using it can mean whatever the reader expects, so that all future disagreements can be argued in court by those selfsame money grabbing b@st@rds.

What do you call 50 dead lawyers at the bottom of the sea? A good start.

I would call it a sad loss of many collective years of precise legal training, transactional know-how, legal drafting, advocacy skills and pragmatic advice, but then I would have to go to Counsel, preferably a QC, and obtain an expensive Legal Opinion at your cost on whether that is the correct view to take or not. We might then need to go for a High Court Declaration on the point, and I would want costs on-account please.

It's THAT simple!

[marshbags]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday December 07, 2008

OPENING A RESTAURANT OR BAR IN THAILAND II:

Can foreigners do this?

Earlier we talked about the requirements for opening a bar or restaurant in Thailand that apply to everybody - both Thai and expat. Now to the rules that apply only to foreigners.

The overall principle is that a foreigner may engage in business in Thailand if he or she obtains a Foreign Business Licence (FBL) from the Commerce Ministry prior to commencement of the business. The ministry, however, has a general internal policy against granting these licences for bars or restaurants, because the decision has been made to reserve this industry for Thais.

The exception to the rule of not awarding FBLs for bars or restaurants is if you can prove you will invest heavily in the bar or restaurant and/or you will employ a number of Thai staff and/or you have technology that can be transferred to the Thai employees. An example of this kind of an exception would be a foreigner who wants to open a large restaurant in a major hotel, with a famous chef and scores of waiters, kitchen staff, bartenders and the like. Even if this is the case, however, whether or not the FBL is granted is at the discretion of the ministry.

There is one exception to the limitation on foreigners directly owning bars or restaurants. US citizens, because of the Treaty of Amity between the US and Thailand, can apply for a foreign business certificate, certifying their nationality. This certification is practically automatic. They can then invest in a bar or restaurant that is 100% foreign owned.

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Ref Url for the complete article is :-

http://www.bangkokpost.com/071208_Spectrum...008_spec010.php

marshbags

[marshbags]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday December 14, 2008

OPENING A RESTAURANT OR BAR IN THAILAND III:

Work permits and leases

Expat Counsel

If you want to manage, cook for or otherwise operate a bar or restaurant in Thailand, you'll need a work permit.

The conventional wisdom floating around is that if a foreign owner doesn't go into the kitchen during opening hours, he or she can run the restaurant without a work permit.

If you're running it, it doesn't matter where you sit: What you do will be regarded as "work" if you are signing documents on behalf of the business, presenting yourself to others as a manager or do anything else, like supervising employees, that gives the impression you are working there.

If a labour inspector picks up on this, you may be subject to a fine and even imprisonment.

There are four criteria for getting a work permit we should discuss.

FIRST, to get a work permit, you must bring some expertise to the table, arguably something in short supply in Thailand. Experience as a chef would do this. Likewise, significant experience as a manager of a bar or restaurant outside of Thailand would be taken seriously.

SECOND, the employer must have two million baht in capital for each work permit the company applies for.

THIRD, some local employment offices - for example, Prachuap Khiri Khan - require at least four Thais to be employed in the business for each work permit granted.

FOURTH, the foreign employee must obtain a Non-immigrant B visa from a Thai embassy to obtain a work permit. The period of validity of the initial work permit will be equal to the validity of the Non-immigrant B visa, usually up to three months. Should you wish to have a one-year visa to start, the company has to apply for this from an immigration office.

Once you have the work permit and are in the country with your initial visa, an immigration office will grant a one-year visa, provided that the company supplies additional documents, including the audited balance sheet, showing that the company has sufficient profits to pay its employees.

If the balance sheet shows a loss, the visa may not be granted. You may then have to leave Thailand to obtain yet another Non-immigrant B visa before the old one expires and then return to Thailand, again renewing the work permit, and repeating this process until the immigration office is satisfied the company has sufficient profits.

Now let's talk about the lease for your business. You should have a professional check to make sure the person who is offering you the location is in fact the owner, or at least it is the owner who will sign the lease as your landlord. Often relatives or friends of owners sign leases and then, particularly if the landlord's family decides they don't want the tenant, it turns out the apparent landlord had no power to sign.

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Go to ref url :- http://www.bangkokpost.com/141208_Spectrum...2008_spec59.php

for the rest of the article.

marshbags

[soundman]

Moved to SME forum.

(Thanks for this series marshbags. )