In an era where "digital platforms" have become a crucial gateway to consumers, business survival depends not only on product quality but also on the ability to bear the costs associated with operating on these platforms.
Over recent years, many SMEs and small entrepreneurs have faced continuously rising costs, especially various fees charged by platforms, leading to unbalanced and unfair competition, with smaller players increasingly disadvantaged and ending up "selling more but earning less or incurring losses."
A survey by the Trade Competition Commission (TCC) found that major e-commerce platforms like Shopee have raised fees 10 times since 2022, totaling a 433% increase, while Lazada has increased fees 7 times, totaling 367%.
Meanwhile, the three major ride-hailing platforms dominating the market have raised fees a total of 8 times between April and August 2026.
This situation has prompted many entrepreneurs to file complaints with the Ministry of Commerce and the TCC, urging immediate action before they become unsustainable.
Data from the TCC over three years (2023-2025) shows 89 complaints related to digital platforms, mostly concerning abuse of market power through unfair fee imposition, restrictive transport options, forced batching systems, and mandatory participation in promotional activities.
From January to 7 October 2026, 37 complaints were filed out of a total 100, with 25 concerning e-commerce and 12 related to ride-hailing services.
The escalating problem compelled Supachai Sutthammanuson, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, to personally lead the resolution efforts, collaborating with relevant agencies to promote trade fairness, restore free competition, and establish rules ensuring platforms and businesses of all sizes can coexist on an equal playing field.
To address the issue, Supachai convened multiple meetings with key agencies such as the Department of Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce, the TCC, and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), among others, to formulate continuous remedial measures.
The first measure implemented was using the authority under Section 60 of the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) for the TCC to order a six-month ban on all fee increases—including GP fees—by both e-commerce and ride-hailing digital platforms, effective from 27 August 2026 to 27 February 2027.
The six platforms under this measure are Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, Grab, Line Man, and Bolt. During this period, all must submit detailed fee structures, GP fees, and other benefits charged from users to the TCC for appropriateness review.
Simultaneously, the TCC has opened public consultation on draft regulations concerning service fee structures in digital platform ecosystems for ride-hailing and on-demand delivery services until 19 November 2026, expecting to finalize and announce the regulations by December 2026.
Once enforced, large digital platforms with revenues over 500 million baht and market power must disclose detailed service fee structures, GP fees, commissions, revenue shares, and cost components used to calculate fees to the TCC before any fee adjustments, ensuring fairness and appropriateness.
Next came negotiations to persuade platforms to voluntarily reduce fees, which was not an easy task.
After multiple discussions, two platforms agreed to reduce fees, while one refused. The Ministry of Commerce then applied "social measures" to pressure the holdout, ultimately succeeding in securing fee reductions.
On 28 October 2026, the three major e-commerce platforms—Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop—announced fee reductions after raising fees three times this year. They reverted to the fee rates effective on 1 January 2026 before the increases, valid from 1 December 2026 to 31 May 2027, expected to relieve SMEs by 1.93 billion baht in total.
Although this fee reduction applies only to "mandatory fees," which include:
1. Commission/GP (selling goods through the platform)
2. Infrastructure Fee/Platform/Growth (system/tool usage fees), and
3. Transaction/Payment fees (payment processing) akin to "toll fees"—nonpayment means no platform sales.
Other voluntary fees such as Promotion/Campaign (discounts to attract customers), Advertising/Visibility (enhanced store exposure), which are essential for competitiveness if unpaid, plus Affiliate/Creator fees for growth, shipping, and other related charges remain unchanged.
The new rates are: Shopee 8.03-13.91% down from 8.03-19.26%, a maximum discount of 33.30%; TikTok Shop 11.24-17.66% down from 13.38-21.94%, a 35% discount; and Lazada 7.50-11.60% down from 9-17.50%, a 42.90% discount. Fee reductions apply across all product categories except electronics.
However, not all sellers qualify for this mandatory fee reduction.
Eligibility criteria include: for individuals, annual sales or income must not exceed 1.8 million baht per platform, with registration at local district or municipal offices, estimated to benefit 1.02 million operators.
For juristic persons, annual sales or income must not exceed 3.5 million baht per platform, with registration at provincial commerce offices or the Department of Business Development, expected to benefit 180,000 operators, totaling 1.2 million beneficiaries. Registration began on 1 November 2026.
This aims to prevent foreign individuals or foreign goods from receiving these discounts and selling on the platforms.
Ride-hailing platforms for passengers, goods, and food will also reduce fees soon.
After the fee reduction period ends on 31 May 2027, the Ministry of Commerce expects platforms to apply new fee structures defined under the forthcoming Digital Platform Economy Act, currently being drafted by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE), ensuring more appropriate and fair fees going forward.
Though fee reductions help alleviate burdens somewhat, the government recognizes that digital competition issues are more complex.
A key focus is the role of "algorithms" in ranking products and visibility on platforms, which directly affects business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
In practice, large businesses can afford advertising budgets to enhance visibility and customer access, while SMEs and small operators with limited funds face higher costs to maintain competitiveness or even to sell on the same platform.
Recently, Supachai assigned relevant agencies to study legal constraints and existing regulatory mechanisms to consider how to enhance digital competition effectively, taking into account impacts on both businesses and consumers comprehensively.
Another issue the government is tackling is large retail chains' delayed payment of goods or trade credits (Credit Terms) to SME and small business partners, causing cash flow shortages.
The TCC issued a declaration on "Fair Trade Concerning Credit Terms Between Large Enterprises or Large Retailers and SMEs."
Under this declaration, large retailers with revenues over 500 million baht must pay trading, manufacturing, and service sector partners within 45 days, and agricultural and primary processed agricultural sectors within 30 days. Violations may incur administrative fines up to 10% of annual revenue in the violation year, promoting fair competition and protecting SME access to funding for sustainable growth.
All these efforts reflect the Ministry of Commerce and government's major mission to rebalance market power, fostering free and fair competition between large businesses and SMEs, and removing trade barriers so SMEs can survive and thrive amid fierce and often unfair competition.
It is certain that more measures will be introduced progressively.
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