Thailand: Issued ruling in Trade Competition Commission investigation into Food Delivery Services over alleged unfair discriminatory trade practice via application

On 24 February 2021, the Trade Competition Commission (TCC) issued its ruling regarding the review of a complaint against A Co., Ltd. and B Co., Ltd., alleging unfair and discriminatory service fees in their food delivery services via applications. The TCC found that A Co., Ltd. and J Co., Ltd. had split their business into B Co., Ltd., which charged varying service fees to restaurants based on several factors, ranging from 0% to 30%. This prompted an investigation into potential violations of the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017). The TCC's investigation focused on whether A Co., Ltd. and B Co., Ltd. held a dominant market position, caused damage to other businesses, or colluded with competitors to fix prices. The findings revealed that neither A Co., Ltd. nor B Co., Ltd. held a dominant market position, as their revenues were below the 1 billion Baht threshold, and their market shares did not meet the required criteria. The varied service fees were deemed reasonable, based on business factors such as order value, number of branches, and marketing benefits, and were applied uniformly without unfair discrimination. Furthermore, there was no evidence of collusion among the companies to fix service fees at 30%. Each company sets its fees independently, considering their respective costs and competitive strategies. Consequently, the actions of A Co., Ltd. and B Co., Ltd. did not violate the Trade Competition Act sections on dominant position, unfair damage to other businesses, or anti-competitive collusion. In conclusion, the Commission determined that A Co., Ltd. and B Co., Ltd. did not engage in any prohibited conduct, and the case was terminated.