Thailand Proposes Tougher E-Commerce Rules on Fees, Seller Checks and Delivery Choice

Platforms with market power face broader duties

Thailand's Trade Competition Commission opened a public consultation on November 4, 2026, on proposed rules that would require e-commerce platforms with market power or a dominant position to verify users, monitor the legality and safety of goods and services, and submit compliance reports every six months. Platforms with less than 10 percent market share would be excluded.

The proposal would also require transparent service fees based on costs, introduce advance notification or approval requirements for fee increases, and prohibit platforms from steering buyers and sellers toward affiliated delivery services. Sellers using competing delivery providers would be protected against disadvantageous treatment.

The consultation runs through December 3, 2026. For merchants, the proposal reaches into everyday decisions about the cost of selling online and which company delivers an order. For shoppers, it would place responsibility on covered platforms to check who uses their services and monitor what is being sold.

Thailand is also applying competition guidelines to the wider relationships around online marketplaces, including sellers, logistics companies, advertisers and payment providers. Those guidelines address pricing practices, product visibility and restrictions on business partners. The November proposal would add specific operating and reporting duties for platforms that meet its coverage criteria.

Which businesses would be covered?

The proposed rules target platforms with market power or a dominant market position, while excluding those below the 10 percent market share threshold. Market power describes a business's ability to influence trading conditions, such as fees or access to customers, because other businesses have limited practical alternatives.

The threshold makes the definition of the relevant market important. A platform's share depends on which services are counted together and how activity is measured. The consultation summary does not specify that calculation, the size of permitted fee increases or a date when the proposed requirements would take effect.

The earlier guidelines released for consultation in August 2025 used a broad definition of an e-commerce platform. They covered electronic systems that connect purchases or other commercial interactions with businesses, whether or not the platform charges a service fee.

That definition included conventional online marketplaces and social marketplaces that connect purchase orders with sellers. It reflects how online commerce can operate through different interfaces while serving the same basic purpose: bringing businesses and customers together.

Fees would face closer scrutiny

The November proposal would require covered platforms to make service fees transparent and base them on costs. Fee increases would face advance notification or approval requirements, bringing greater oversight to changes that can affect a merchant's earnings from each sale.

A seller's platform bill can contain more than a commission. The August 2025 draft identified advertising charges, logistics and pickup fees, promotion charges and payment fees as areas where excessive or unjustified treatment could raise competition concerns. Several separate charges can therefore matter as much to a merchant as the headline commission.

The guidelines that took effect on March 25 address parallel pricing, unjustified price differences and excessive charges on business partners. Authorities assess conduct case by case, taking account of market conditions and contractual arrangements. Parallel pricing refers to businesses moving prices in similar ways; the commission's assessment examines the circumstances surrounding the conduct.

The August draft also addressed rate parity clauses, which prevent sellers from offering lower prices on another platform or through another sales channel. Such conditions can limit a merchant's ability to pass lower selling costs on to customers elsewhere.

Delivery choice becomes a central issue

The proposed restrictions on delivery steering would affect platforms that also have interests in logistics businesses. Covered operators would be barred from directing buyers and sellers toward affiliated delivery services or placing sellers at a disadvantage for choosing competing providers.

A marketplace can influence delivery choices through the options it displays, the services it requires or the treatment it gives merchants using different carriers. The proposal addresses the platform's role as both a gateway to customers and a business with commercial interests in related services.

The August 2025 draft described a wider set of potentially harmful requirements involving logistics, payment gateways and advertising. It included forcing sellers to use services supplied by the platform or designated partners, as well as requiring participation in recurring promotional activities.

Logistics providers also featured in the draft's treatment of discrimination. Unequal allocation of order volumes without justification was among the examples identified. For an independent carrier, access to marketplace orders can affect how much business it receives, even when merchants are technically allowed to choose it.

Seller checks and reports every six months

The November draft would require covered platforms to verify user identities and monitor whether goods and services are legal and safe. These duties would reach beyond the financial terms of trading to the people and products entering the marketplace.

Identity verification means checking who is behind an account. Monitoring legality and safety concerns what that account offers for sale. For a platform operator, these are different tasks: identifying a merchant does not replace the work of reviewing products and responding to problems.

Covered platforms would also conduct self-assessments and submit compliance reports every six months. A self-assessment requires the business to review its own practices against the rules, while recurring reports give the regulator a regular account of that review.

For operators, the practical work would span several teams, including those responsible for merchant registration, product listings, fees and delivery arrangements. Sellers could face additional checks when opening or maintaining accounts, alongside protections governing how the platform treats their businesses.

Algorithms and seller data are also in focus

The competition framework reaches beyond prices because a marketplace can shape a seller's prospects through product rankings and visibility. A listing placed prominently in search results has a different chance of attracting customers from one that is difficult to find.

The August 2025 draft identified the use of algorithms or platform design to limit a seller's visibility while favoring the platform's own products or selected partners. It also addressed automated ranking or pricing systems that distort competition without reasonable justification.

Algorithms are sets of instructions used to make decisions automatically, including which products appear first. Under the framework, the commercial effect of those decisions matters alongside the fees written into a seller's contract.

Seller data was another concern in the August draft. It identified the use of information collected from merchants to give affiliated businesses an unfair competitive advantage. A platform may hold information about demand, orders and seller performance while also operating businesses that compete for the same customers.

The draft also covered restrictions preventing merchants from selling on competing platforms, backed by penalties such as account suspension or removal of listings. Other examples included imposed resale prices, pricing below cost without reasonable justification, and coordination between competitors over advertising keyword bids.

How the consultations and guidelines fit together

The Trade Competition Act supplies the legal basis for the guidelines on unfair practices and conduct that monopolizes, reduces or restricts competition. The August 2025 draft set out how the commission intended to apply that law to digital platforms connecting several groups of users, such as buyers, sellers and service providers.

The key dates distinguish that earlier consultation from the November 2026 proposal:

• August 19, 2025: The commission released draft guidelines on competition and unfair trade practices in e-commerce platform businesses.
• September 18, 2025: The public comment period for that draft was scheduled to close.
• November 4, 2026: The commission opened consultation on broader obligations for platforms with market power or a dominant position.
• December 3, 2026: The consultation on those proposed obligations closes.

The competition guidelines are also described as having taken effect on March 25 after publication in the Government Gazette, although the year of that commencement date was not specified. Their scope includes platform relationships with sellers, logistics providers, advertisers and payment services.

The November proposal remains a consultation draft. Its specific requirements on identity checks, safety monitoring, fee changes and reporting should therefore be understood as proposed obligations while the commission gathers comments.

What enforcement could mean for businesses

The commission's guidelines call for assessment case by case, with market conditions and contracts forming part of the review. Violations may result in criminal penalties or administrative fines, depending on the conduct and applicable provisions of competition law.

The August draft placed weight on whether a business could explain its practices through economic, commercial, marketing or technological reasons. That makes the reasons behind a restriction or difference in treatment relevant to the regulator's assessment.

Platform operators would need to examine both contracts and the way their systems work. A delivery restriction may appear in merchant terms, while a disadvantage in product visibility may result from ranking settings. Fee schedules, advertising arrangements and access to seller data are further parts of the same commercial relationship.

Merchants and service providers have a direct interest in the consultation because the proposed rules concern their access to customers, operating costs and freedom to choose business partners. The next scheduled step is the December 3 deadline for comments, when the consultation period closes.

Key Points

• Thailand opened consultation on November 4, 2026, on proposed obligations for e-commerce platforms with market power or a dominant position.
• Platforms with less than 10 percent market share would be excluded.
• Covered operators would verify users, monitor legality and safety, conduct self-assessments and report every six months.
• Fees would need to be transparent and based on costs, with notification or approval requirements for increases.
• The draft would prohibit steering toward affiliated delivery services and disadvantaging sellers using competitors.
• Related competition guidelines address pricing, rankings, preferential treatment and restrictions on service providers.
• The consultation closes on December 3, 2026.