Delivery apps would need 90 days' notice to raise GP fees

Restaurants pay GP, the cut an app takes from every order. Yet between April and August 2026 the platforms raised their charges eight times without giving a reason, according to checks the Nation reported.

That is the problem a draft notice from the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) sets out to fix. The TCCT board approved the draft on 19 October 2026. Large ride-hailing and delivery apps would have to give at least 90 days' notice before raising fees, and explain which costs a rise covers.

The biggest, known as dominant platforms, would need the TCCT's permission at least 180 days ahead. The TCCT is taking comments until 19 November, according to its public hearing page.

SV News sums up what the draft requires, which apps it covers, and how restaurants and riders can comment or complain.

The draft sets four duties, from notice to suspension

The draft covers ride-hailing, food delivery and quick commerce, meaning fast delivery of goods.

It regulates five types of charge that platforms collect, among them service fees, revenue shares and waiting fees, as well as how GP is calculated, Krungthep Turakij reported.

The draft notice sets four duties for platforms.

• 90 days' notice: platforms with market power must prepare a fee policy, a justification and a preliminary impact assessment before raising a fee or adding a new one, then notify users and the TCCT at least 90 days before charging it.
• Permission 180 days ahead: dominant platforms must prepare an impact assessment and seek TCCT permission at least 180 days before charging a new rate.
• Cost breakdown: fees must be based on necessary costs and broken down so users can check and challenge them.
• Power to suspend: under Section 60 of the Trade Competition Act 2017, the TCCT could order a platform to suspend, stop or revise a fee rise within 120 days of the new rate starting.

The rule binds the regulator too. If the TCCT does not decide a dominant platform's request within 180 days, permission is deemed granted.

The draft does not cap GP. Put simply, apps can still set their own fees, but they must give notice and be able to explain which costs a rise covers. Restaurants paying GP on every order then have time to plan their prices before a new rate starts.

Warawan Chitaroon, a TCCT commissioner, said the notice aims to make platform charges "more transparent and open to scrutiny", the Nation reported. The goal is fair competition, not price control, she said.

Apps with 10% of a market or more are covered

Smaller apps with less than 10% of a market are exempt.

The rest fall into two tiers under the TCCT's existing tests, which judge market power on both market share and sales. Warawan said apps with 10% to 33% have market power and those above 33% are dominant, the Nation and Krungthep Turakij reported.

The TCCT has not said which app falls where, but the Nation and Krungthep Turakij reported that Grab, LINE MAN and Bolt are among the major platforms that must give the commission details of their GP charges.

The platforms have made their case too. Warawan said on 11 September 2026 that the TCCT had held a focus group, a small hearing, with the platforms, according to the commission's release.

The platforms argued that GP is not all profit, because they also pay for riders, technology, marketing and staff. They warned that rules from several agencies, among them the Department of Land Transport and the Labour Ministry, could overlap.

About 90% of restaurant and rider complaints are about GP

The complaint numbers show why the TCCT is acting.

Between 1 January and 7 October 2026 the TCCT received 100 complaints, 37 of them about digital platforms: 25 about e-commerce and 12 about ride-hailing. About 90% of complaints from riders and restaurants were about GP, Warawan said.

The ride-hailing complaints also included forced batching, where one rider has to collect food from several restaurants, and forced entry into promotions. Warawan noted that these apps can charge GP to both the rider and the restaurant on the same order.

Pol Lt Gen Pittaya Siriraksa, another commissioner, said some platforms had raised fees by as much as 400% over the past five years, Thai PBS reported. In both the ride-hailing and delivery markets, two big players hold 90% between them, Warawan said, according to the Bangkok Post.

The TCCT plans separate guidelines for e-commerce platforms. Checks found that Shopee had raised GP 10 times since 2022, by a combined 433%, and Lazada seven times, by 367%, the Nation and Krungthep Turakij reported.

A stopgap is already in place. In late August 2026 the TCCT ordered six major ride-hailing and e-commerce operators to freeze fee increases for six months, until February 2027, Thai PBS reported. The Bangkok Post said that means three in each sector.

Comments close 19 November, with final rules due by 18 December

Restaurants, riders or anyone else can comment on the draft until 19 November 2026.

Fill in the online form on the TCCT's hearing page, which also carries the full draft and a summary, or email hearing@tcct.or.th. Commenters must give their full name and national ID number. Questions go to the TCCT's competition advocacy division on 0 2199 5410.

A restaurant or rider who feels treated unfairly in trade can complain now to the TCCT's fact-finding division on 0 2199 5416, as the TCCT said in September.

After the hearing closes, the TCCT board will review the results on 23 November, the Bangkok Post reported, and the regulator said it will revise the draft in light of the comments, according to another Bangkok Post report.

The TCCT chairman would then sign the notice by 4 December, according to the timeline the Nation and Krungthep Turakij reported. It would take effect the day after it appears in the Royal Gazette, which the TCCT aims for by 18 December 2026.

FAQ

Does the draft cap GP fees?

No. It sets no GP rates. It governs how platforms set and change fees, and requires a cost-based reason for each rise.

Which platforms would the rules cover?

Ride-hailing and delivery platforms with at least 10% of their market. Stricter rules apply to dominant platforms, which Warawan described as those with more than 33%. The TCCT has not named them, but the Nation and Krungthep Turakij reported that Grab, LINE MAN and Bolt must give it details of their GP charges.

When does the public hearing close?

On 19 November 2026, according to the TCCT's hearing page, where comments are filed through an online form or by email to hearing@tcct.or.th. Some early reports said 20 November.

When would the rules take effect, and can apps raise fees before then?

The TCCT aims to publish the final notice in the Royal Gazette by 18 December 2026, and it would take effect the next day. Until February 2027, six major ride-hailing and e-commerce operators remain under a TCCT order not to raise fees, Thai PBS reported.

Sources

• Trade Competition Commission of Thailand: Public hearing on the draft notice on service fee structures for ride-hailing and on-demand delivery
• Trade Competition Commission of Thailand: Draft notice on service fee structures (PDF)
• Trade Competition Commission of Thailand: Summary of the draft notice (PDF)
• Bangkok Post: Ride-hailing fees earn public consultation
• Bangkok Post: Panel okays draft on service fee structures
• The Nation: Thailand approves draft fee rules for ride-hailing and delivery apps
• Krungthep Turakij: กขค. จ่อคุม GP แพลตฟอร์มเรียกรถ-ส่งอาหาร คาดบังคับใช้ ธ.ค.นี้
• Thai PBS: เบรกหัวทิ่ม! รัฐสั่งคุมเข้มค่าธรรมเนียมแพลตฟอร์มเรียกรถ-ส่งอาหาร
• Trade Competition Commission of Thailand: Press release 20/2569, platforms on GP
• Trade Competition Commission of Thailand: Press release 17/2569, riders and restaurants
• Trade Competition Commission of Thailand: Members of the commission