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8.3 Research Limitations

The data used in this study was sourced from the Department of Business Development and
includes only those social enterprises that have disclosed their information to the department.

Specifically, it comprises financial statements and profit and loss accounts from 2019 to 2023,
limited to the records each enterprise has chosen to disclose. As such, the analysis is
constrained by the availability of data from the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion (OSEP)
and the annual reports of the respective social enterprises.

8.4 Basic Information on the Social Enterprises Included in the

Study

The social enterprises examined in the financial status analysis were those that submitted
financial data to the Department of Business Development between 2019 and 2023, totaling
256 enterprises, or approximately 80 percent of the 321 enterprises registered under the Social
Enterprise Promotion Act B.E. 2562 (2019) with the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion (OSEP)

as of 2023. According to Table 8.1, around 93 percent of these social enterprises were registered
as limited companies, while the remaining 7 percent were limited partnerships. When classified
by profit-sharing intent, over 75 percent of the enterprises indicated that they did not intend
to distribute profits, while only 25 percent expressed an intention to share profits with
shareholders. Regarding tax registration, approximately 61 percent had registered with the
Revenue Department to obtain tax benefits. However, there has been a consistent decline in
tax registration from 2019 to 2023, possibly due to the expiration of tax incentives under Royal

Decree No. 735 issued under the Revenue Code, which remained in effect only until December
31, 2023. Moreover, some social enterprises showed little interest in applying for tax benefits,
as they had low total income and had not yet generated net profits. Consequently, they saw no
need or value in undergoing the tax registration process, which involves multiple steps and
documentation that can be burdensome for social enterprises to manage.

Although the legal registration of social enterprises began under the Social Enterprise
Promotion Act B.E. 2562 (2019), more than 64 percent of the enterprises studied had already
been established as legal entities or organizations operating with a social business model prior

to 2019. In particular, 52 percent were founded between 2014 and 2019, accounting for more
than half of the study sample, while only 36 percent were registered from 2019 onward. In
terms of formation models, approximately 26 percent of the enterprises were established
under the Pracharath Rak Samakkee model, and 16 percent followed a flexible spin-off
approach. Only 10 percent were independently initiated. For the remaining 48 percent, no clear
information was available regarding their formation model.

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