Thailand Tightens SME Procurement Rules, Raises Price Advantage to 20%
Thailand is raising the price advantage for SMEs in government procurement to 20% and tightening beneficial ownership verification to prevent misuse, effective October 1, 2025. The move expands market access for small businesses while stren
The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion is advancing the Thai SME-GP programme to use government procurement as a revenue-generating opportunity for SMEs while strengthening beneficial ownership (UBO) verification to prevent misuse, starting October 1, 2025.
Vachira Kaeokop, deputy director of OSMEP, said government procurement is a critical market that generates income and growth opportunities for small and medium enterprises. OSMEP has partnered with the Comptroller General's Department to promote Thai SME-GP since 2020, leveraging government purchasing power to give SMEs greater market access and competition. The programme has expanded steadily, with SMEs holding 59.45% of government procurement projects in 2024 and increasing their contract value share from 47.24% in 2023 to 48.47% in 2025. As of September 4, 2025, approximately 40,919 SMEs had continuously received government procurement work.
For the next phase of Thai SME-GP, OSMEP will expand market access opportunities and strengthen fairness standards by using beneficial ownership data to verify business connections against Comptroller General guidelines and prevent misuse of the programme. Verification will examine four aspects: direct shareholding, indirect shareholding through other entities, directors or joint signatories, and shared beneficial owners. This assessment applies to the Comptroller General's standards for determining business relationships.
OSMEP will also extend benefits to SMEs participating in procurement projects worth up to 500 million baht cumulatively, broadening eligibility from smaller projects. Price advantages are being upgraded: SMEs now receive a base 10% advantage on domestically produced goods or Made in Thailand products, plus an additional 5%, and innovators using e-Tax invoicing qualify for another 5%, totalling a maximum 20% advantage effective October 1, 2025.
This approach aligns with the government's SME Journey policy, which aims to remove barriers to government market access, digital capability development, and funding access. The goal is to establish government procurement as a key growth channel for qualifying SMEs while ensuring standards, transparency, and fairness in programme administration.
