ตรวจสอบโดย ThaiLawOnline สำนักงานกฎหมายไทยที่ได้รับใบอนุญาตและดำเนินกิจการในประเทศไทยตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2549 ทนายความผู้รับผิดชอบสำนวน: วิชุดา อรรถเมธากุล, น.ม., ใบอนุญาตเนติบัณฑิตไทย เลขที่ 3149/2556.
อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569
Dissolution and liquidation (การเลิกบริษัทและชำระบัญชี, kan loek borisat lae chamra banchi, in everyday English closing หรือ winding up a company) are the two stages by which a Thai company limited stops existing. Dissolution is the decision or event that ends the company’s business, by special resolution of the shareholders, by a term or condition in its own documents, by bankruptcy or by court order. Liquidation is what follows: a liquidator collects the assets, pays the creditors, obtains tax clearance and returns any surplus to the shareholders, after which the DBD registers the company as liquidated.
สารบัญ
Grounds and procedure under the Civil and Commercial Code
Section 1236 lists the causes of dissolution: a cause set out in the articles, expiry of a fixed term, completion of the sole purpose, a special resolution of the shareholders passed by a three-quarters majority, and bankruptcy. Section 1237 lets the court dissolve a company on a shareholder’s application when the statutory formalities were never completed, the business did not start within a year or has been suspended for a whole year, it can only be carried on at a loss with no prospect of recovery, or the shareholders have fallen below the legal minimum.
The liquidator is the directors unless the articles or the resolution appoint someone else. Within 14 days of dissolution the liquidator must register the dissolution and the appointment with the ดีบีดี, publish the dissolution at least once in a local newspaper and send a registered letter to every known creditor. The liquidator then reports progress to the registrar every 3 months until the final accounts are approved.
What closing a company involves in practice
The DBD side is quick; the Revenue Department side is not. A final set of accounts is audited to the dissolution date and a final corporate income tax return, PND 50, is filed within 150 days of it. A VAT-registered company must apply to cancel its registration within 15 days of dissolution and keep filing PP.30 returns until the cancellation is approved. The Revenue Department then reviews the company’s history before issuing tax clearance, reopening any year with a missing return or an unexplained shareholder loan. Employees must be paid statutory severance.
Only when the creditors are paid and the tax cleared can the liquidator call the final shareholders’ meeting, distribute what is left and register the completion of liquidation, again within 14 days. A clean company can be closed in about 3 months; one with years of neglected filings often takes a year. The books must be kept for 10 years after the liquidation is registered.
Dissolution compared with strike-off and bankruptcy
Voluntary dissolution is chosen by the shareholders and controlled by the liquidator. Strike-off is done by the registrar to a company that appears defunct because it has filed nothing for years; it removes the company from the register but does not settle its taxes or release its directors, and a creditor or the Revenue Department can apply to restore it within 10 years. Bankruptcy is a court process started by a creditor owed at least 2,000,000 baht by a company, with an official receiver taking over.
Walking away is not an exit. A dormant company continues to owe audits and returns, the director remains liable for the failures, and the record follows the director into later company registrations and ใบอนุญาตทำงาน applications. Formal dissolution is the only route that ends the liability.
คำถามที่พบบ่อย
How long does it take to close a company in Thailand?
About 3 months for a company whose accounts and tax filings are complete and up to date. Where returns are missing or the Revenue Department queries the books, tax clearance can take a year or more, because every outstanding return must be filed and paid with surcharges before the liquidation can be completed.
How much does it cost to dissolve a company in Thailand?
Government fees for registering the dissolution and the completion of liquidation are a few hundred baht each. The real costs are the final audit, the newspaper notice, the accounting work to bring filings up to date, and any tax, surcharges and fines the Revenue Department assesses before it issues clearance.
Can a foreigner just abandon a Thai company instead of dissolving it?
Not safely. The company continues to owe an annual audit and tax returns, fines accumulate against the company and its directors, and the registrar may strike it off as defunct, which does not settle its debts and lets creditors or the Revenue Department restore it later. Formal dissolution and liquidation is the only clean exit.
ดูเพิ่มเติม: Company limited, Bankruptcy, Director, Corporate income tax, การปิดบริษัทในประเทศไทย และ how to register a company in Thailand.
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