Dear Charlie ,
Firstly Regus will always issue a tax invoice addressed to the local entity and report this to the authorities as they follow Thai law fully – we had a similar query from another client . You therefore have no choice but to withhold the tax and file a return each month or face penalties .
Secondly the Thai Accounting Act , Civil & Commercial Code and Revenue Code are very clear – ALL accounting must be performed in Thailand by a Thai national accountant with qualifications approved by the Thai Ministry of Commerce . This person must register with the Ministry of Commerce and sign the statutory returns . No Thai accountant will sign these unless they have done the bookkeeping as they are accepting responsibility and confirming that they have done the accounting . Once you have a company registered here , you have no choice under Thai law – accounting must be performed here .
Following the recent military coup we have also noticed a move by the authorities to ensure that regulations are adhered to in full and therefore expect inspections in accordance with these laws to increase and more enforcement .
Best regards ,
Mark