The Trade Competition Commission (TCC) is the primary mechanism in
the supervision and enforcement of the Trade Competition Law. Previously, the Trade
Competition Act B.E. 2542 imposed the structure of the Commission as follows; The Minister
of the Ministry of Commerce as the President The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of
Commerce as the Vice President The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance as the
Commissioner Moreover, the cabinet would consider the appointment of the Honorary
Commissioners who are in the private sector for no less than half of the Commissioner. The
Director- General of the Department of Internal Trade, who is the Secretary-General, would
become the Commissioner and Secretary. It could be seen that the component of the Commission
at that time consisted of 16 members which were excessive and lacked independence. The
Commissioners failed to execute their job properly on a full-time basis, and that hindered
the convenience to set up any meeting, and consequently, the submitted complaints’
consideration was delayed due to the inconsistency of operation.
During the period of the revision, of which result is the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560,
the importance of the Commission’s component was necessitated. As a consequence, the
selection process for the Commissioner was reconsidered. The revised law regulates that the
Commission should be consisted of 9 members including the Permanent Secretaries of the
following ministries: The Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of
Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Operatives, the Ministry of Justice. The
Secretary-General of the following institutes: of the Office of the National Economic and
Social Development Council and the Office of the Consumer Protection Board. The President of
the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand and lastly, the President of the
Federation of Thai Industries. The selection process has to be completed within 270 days.
