Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 1: Board, Advisors and Competent Officials

There shall be a Board of Investment consisting of the Prime Minister as Chairman, the Minister of Industry as Vice Chairman, not more than ten other competent persons appointed by the Prime Minister to act as members, and the Secretary General as member and secretary to the Board, having the powers and duties under this Act.

The Prime Minister may appoint not more than five other competent persons to act as advisors.

A member or advisor shall hold office for term of two years. In the case where a member or an advisor is appointed, either as an addition or as a replacement, during the term of office of members or advisors already appointed, the person so appointed shall hold office only for the remaining term of his predecessor.

A member or advisor who vacates his Office may be reappointed.

Apart from the expiration of term of office under section 7 paragraph one, a member or advisor vacates his office upon:

1. death,
2. resignation,
3. dismissal by the Prime Minister,
4. being adjudged bankrupt,
5. being adjudged incompetent or quasi-incompetent, or
6. being imprisoned by a final judgement to imprisonment, except for a petty offence or an offence committed by negligence.

Whenever a member or advisor vacates his office under paragraph one, the Prime Minister may appoint any other person to fill the vacancy.

The Chairman of the Board shall convene a Board meeting.

In a meeting, the attendance of not less than one-half of total number of members of the Board shall be required to constitute a quorum.

The Chairman shall preside over the meeting. If the Chairman is absent from the meeting or is unable to attend, the Vice Chairman shall preside over the meeting. If the Vice Chairman is absent from the meeting or is unable to attend, the members present shall elect one of them to preside over the meeting.

A decision of the meeting shall be taken by a majority of votes. Each member shall have one vote. In case of an equality of votes, the person who presides over the meeting shall cast another vote as a deciding-vote.

In the case where the Chairman is unable to perform his duties, the Vice Chairman shall act on his behalf. If the Chairman and the Vice Chairman are unable to perform their duties, the Secretary General shall convene the meeting in order that a member may be elected to act on behalf of the Chairman.

In the performance of duties under this Act, the Board may authorize the Office to act on its behalf, appoint subcommittees to perform any assigned duties, or summon any person concerned to give facts, explanations, advice or opinions.

The provisions of section 9 shall apply mutatis mutandis the meetings of the sub-committees.

Upon completion of the assigned duties under paragraph one, the Office or the sub-committees, as the case may be, shall report to the Board.

Members, advisors and members of sub-committees shall be entitled to receive such remuneration as may be prescribed by the Council of Ministers.

The Office shall be administered by the Secretary General who shall be responsible for the administration of the office and directly under the Prime Minister. There shall be Deputy Secretary General (s) and there may also be an Assistant Secretary General to assist the Secretary General in carrying out his duties.

The Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General (s) and Assistant Secretary General shall be ordinary civil servants.

The Office shall have the following powers and duties:

1. to perform such functions as may be resolved or assigned to it by the Board;
2. to undertake works to publicize investment potentials and induce investments in those activities which are important and beneficial to economic and social development, and security of the country;
3. to establish an Investment Services Centre to assist prospective investors and investors in obtaining permissions and services related to investment which include facilities and assistance to prospective investors in the implementation of investment projects;
4. to appraise projects requesting promotion, supervise, control, and evaluate promoted investment projects;
5. to conduct studies and research in identifying investment opportunities, prepare feasibility reports, and formulate an investment promotion program;
6. to study and compile data relating to investment on the Kingdom;
7. to perform other duties in the furtherance of the objectives of this Act.

A competent official shall have the power to enter the premises of the applicant and of the promoted person during working hours for inquiry of fact from any person on such premises or examination of any document or thing relating to the activity in which the promotion is being sought or has been granted, as may be necessary.

In the case where the competent official intends to enter the premises, referred to in paragraph one, the applicant or the promoted person shall, except in case of urgency, be notified in writing at a reasonable time in advance.

In order to comply with Section 14, a competent official must have an identification card in accordance with the form prescribed in the Ministerial Regulation. In the performance of duties, the competent official must show the identification card to persons concerned.