Page 194 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

Registered social enterprises are required to submit annual activity reports, audited financial
statements, and reports on social impact to the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion 152 , following

the criteria, procedures, and conditions set by the Office 153 .

4. Social Enterprise Promotion Fund

The Social Enterprise Promotion Act establishes the “Social Enterprise Promotion Fund” to
promote, support, and develop social enterprises. The Fund consists of the following sources of
money and assets:

(1) Contributions and additional funds under Section 13 154
(2) Administrative fines collected under the Act 155
(3) Money or assets donated or granted to the Fund

(4) Interest and returns generated from the Fund’s assets
(5) Other funds or assets received from domestic and international private sector sources,
foreign governments, or international organizations

Several subordinate regulations have been issued to guide the operation and management of the
Fund, including rules on providing loans for the establishment, improvement, and development
of social enterprises 156 . These provisions are fairly detailed. However, at the time of preparing
this report, the Social Enterprise Promotion Committee had not yet issued regulations specifying
the contribution rates that social enterprises must pay into the Fund. Furthermore, since the law

does not require the government to provide initial capital or allocate an annual budget, the Fund
currently has no resources and is not yet able to provide loans or financial assistance to social
enterprises, as originally envisioned under the law.

5. Measures to Promote Social Enterprises

Section 59 of the Social Enterprise Promotion Act, B.E. 2562 (2019), stipulates that social
enterprises may receive the following forms of promotion and support:

152 Social Enterprise Promotion Act, B.E. 2562 (2019), Section 12.
153 Announcement of the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion on the Preparation of Annual Reports of Social
Enterprises, B.E. 2564 (2021), announced on July 30, 2021.
154 Section 13 stipulates as follows: “A social enterprise shall have the duty to contribute annually to the Fund in
accordance with the rules, procedures, and rates prescribed by the Committee with the approval of the Cabinet. Any
social enterprise that fails to contribute to the Fund or contributes less than the required amount within the specified
period shall pay an additional amount at the rate of one percent per month of the unpaid or underpaid contribution,
in accordance with the rules, procedures, and conditions prescribed by the Committee.”
155 Section 78 stipulates that any person who violates Section 9 (which prohibits the use of the term “social enterprise”
as part of the name in conducting activities related to production, sale of goods, services, or other operations, unless
registered as a social enterprise) shall be subject to an administrative fine not exceeding twenty thousand baht.
156 Regulation of the Social Enterprise Promotion Fund Executive Committee on Lending for the Establishment,
Improvement, and Development of Social Enterprise Operations, B.E. 2565 (2022), dated August 15, 2022.
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