Lazada, Shopee and TikTok Cut Fees to Save Thai SMEs 1.93B Baht
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Lazada, Shopee and TikTok Shop agreed to roll back gross profit commission fees for Thai small businesses to January 1 levels for six months starting December 1, 2026.
The temporary reduction runs through May 31, 2027, and is projected to save 1.2 million merchants an estimated 1.93 billion baht in operating costs.
Wattanasak Sur-iam, director-general of the Department of Internal Trade, stepped in after the three platforms raised merchant commissions three separate times since January 2026. Those rapid hikes gave vendors little time to reprice stock or recalibrate working capital. Under the settlement, the rollback caps Lazada gross profit fees between 7.50 per cent and 11.60 per cent, sets Shopee rates from 8.03 per cent to 13.91 per cent, and pegs TikTok Shop fees at 11.24 per cent to 17.66 per cent depending on the product category. Electronics are excluded from the fee relief.
Thresholds and Bureaucratic Hurdles for Sellers
Access to the lower fee schedule comes with rigid revenue ceilings. Individual sole traders must record annual sales below 1.8 million baht, while registered legal corporate entities qualify only if yearly turnover stays at or below 3.5 million baht.
Relief is not automatic. Sellers must file applications directly with the Department of Business Development, provincial commerce branch offices or local administrative councils to secure the discounted commission tiers.
That administrative layer creates friction. Thousands of small operators run informal operations across social networks and marketplaces, meaning operators who fail to register through government channels will continue paying post-hike commissions during peak holiday trading.
“Platforms spent years burning cash on free shipping vouchers and merchant onboarding bonuses to lock in domestic market share.”
Margin Battles Shift from Subsidies to Extraction
For marketplace operators across Southeast Asia, the fee battle reflects a sharp pivot from subsidised user acquisition to aggressive take-rate monetisation. Platforms spent years burning cash on free shipping vouchers and merchant onboarding bonuses to lock in domestic market share. Now, parent groups want positive free cash flow, and raising commission rates is the fastest lever to pull.
Thailand has become the sharp edge of this regional pushback. When marketplaces simultaneously raise commissions multiple times in a single calendar year, merchant margins vanish faster than consumer prices can adjust. By enforcing a temporary rollback, state regulators are checking platform pricing power without dismantling the underlying commission models.
The policy hands independent suppliers temporary margin breathing room. It does not solve the long-term risk for vendors who remain entirely dependent on three dominant digital distribution channels.
Antitrust Intervention Precedes Statutory Controls
Regulatory pressure had been building before the commerce ministry stepped into negotiations. The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand previously pushed platforms to freeze gross profit increases for a six-month window from August 27, 2026 to February 27, 2027.
Supree Thongpetch, chairman of the Thai Small and Medium Enterprises Council, argued the registration mechanism should push informal vendors into formal commercial frameworks to improve transparency. He noted, “The solution lies in finding a balance among all business operators, as we are part of the country’s shared commercial structure.”
Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun confirmed the relief plan serves only as a stopgap measure. Ministries are reviewing the draft Digital Platform Economy Act, which officials first assembled in 2025, to write permanent statutory controls over platform pricing, business conduct and service benchmarks.
Permanent Pricing Rules Await February Deadline
State agencies will continue gathering stakeholder feedback on the draft digital platform legislation until February 27, 2027. Commerce officials plan to present the final assessment framework governing ongoing gross profit fees before the end of February.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which merchants qualify for the fee reductions, and what are the exclusions?
Which merchants qualify for the fee reductions, and what are the exclusions?
Sole traders qualify if annual turnover remains below 1.8 million baht, whilst registered corporate entities must generate 3.5 million baht or less. In addition, vendors selling electronics are excluded from the scheme entirely regardless of their annual revenue.
Q.How can eligible sellers secure the lower commission rates?
How can eligible sellers secure the lower commission rates?
Fee relief is not applied automatically. Merchants must submit formal applications directly to the Department of Business Development, provincial commerce branch offices or local administrative councils to secure the discounted rates, meaning unregistered informal operators will continue paying higher fees.
Q.What fee caps have been established across the three platforms?
What fee caps have been established across the three platforms?
Gross profit fees are capped between 7.50 per cent and 11.60 per cent for Lazada, 8.03 per cent to 13.91 per cent for Shopee, and 11.24 per cent to 17.66 per cent for TikTok Shop, depending on the product category.
Q.What long-term measures are being prepared to oversee marketplace pricing?
What long-term measures are being prepared to oversee marketplace pricing?
Thai ministries are reviewing the draft Digital Platform Economy Act to establish statutory controls over platform pricing, commercial conduct and service benchmarks. State agencies will collect stakeholder feedback until 27 February 2027 before presenting a final assessment framework.