The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand has introduced new guidelines for e-commerce, regulating pricing and conduct to prevent unfair practices and promote fair competition among platform participants. Enforcement will vary by case.
Key Points
- The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) has introduced new guidelines to regulate business conduct on e-commerce platforms, effective March 25. The aim is to address unfair practices and competition issues in the digital marketplace.
- The guidelines apply to multi-sided platforms, detailing relationships among operators, sellers, logistics providers, advertisers, and payment services. They prohibit parallel pricing, unjustified price differences, and excessive charges that may disadvantage sellers.
- Non-price conduct issues, such as algorithms limiting product visibility and preferential treatment of certain sellers, are also addressed. Violations may result in penalties, with case-by-case enforcement considering market conditions and contractual arrangements.
The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) has issued new guidelines to regulate business conduct on e-commerce platforms, setting clearer rules to address unfair practices and competition concerns in the digital marketplace. The guidelines took effect on March 25, following their publication in the Government Gazette.
The new framework applies to multi-sided platform businesses, covering relationships between platform operators and related partners such as sellers, logistics providers, advertisers, and payment services. The document outlines how authorities will assess conduct that may restrict or distort competition under the Trade Competition Act.
The guidelines set out rules on pricing behavior, including restrictions on parallel pricing, unjustified price differences, and excessive charges imposed on business partners. These measures help prevent practices that could disadvantage sellers or limit fair competition within the platform ecosystem.
They also address non-price conduct, including the use of algorithms to limit product visibility, preferential treatment of certain sellers or in-house services, and requirements that restrict partners to specific service providers. Such practices may be subject to penalties if found to harm market competition without reasonable grounds.
Authorities said enforcement will be carried out on a case-by-case basis, taking into account market conditions and contractual arrangements. Violations may result in criminal penalties or administrative fines, while efforts will continue to promote awareness among operators to ensure compliance with competition law.
Source : TCCT Issues New E-Commerce Rules to Curb Unfair Competition
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