The Department of Business Development is the
department that changed its name from the Department of Commercial Registration
according to the reengineering effective from 3 October 2002 as
enacted in the Organization of State Administration Act (Fifth Amendment)
B.E. 2545 and the Act Amending Ministry, Sub-Ministry and Department B.E.2545.
Regarding
the outcome of such reengineering, in addition to the change of “Department
of Commercial Registration” to “Department of Business Development”,
the department has improved its roles, missions, and organization structure
starting from transferring measurement unit to report to Department of Internal
Trade, Ministry of Commerce and transferring fuel jobs to Department of
Energy Business, Ministry of Energy.At the same time, the Department has
received business development and promotion duties,the registration duties,
and the promotion of trade association and chamber from Department of Internal
Trade and new duties, namely,service and e-commerce business promotion,
to perform with the original duties, namely, business registrationduties,
business supervision, and business services.
His Majesty the King Vajiravudh ordered to establish the Department
of Commercial Registration as the Department with the director as its head
on 15 January B.E.2466 and assigned Phra Komarakul Montri (Cheun Komarakul
Na Nakorn) as the first Director of Department of Commercial Registration
to be onsible for measurement and commercial registration.
When the Department of Commercial Registration was firstly
established, the duties of responsibilities of the department during that
time are the maintenance of measurement, and the commercial registration.Originally,
the measurement and the commercial registration duties, namely, company
partnership, insurance, trademark,and patent, are under the responsibilities
of other Ministries, Sub-ministries, and departments and we can summarize
the history as follows :
Regarding the measurement duties in the past, Thailand applied
measurement system from many countries such such as from Thailand itself,
from China, and from other western countries, deemed as appropriate or convenient.
In addition, in an item, there are many rates or scale so using method of
measurement with different rates or scales obstructs the prosperity of trading.
His Majesty the King Chulalongkorn initiated to set therules for measurement
as the evidence and since the measurement is related to trading so it should
be the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce’s duties to set the rules. In
this issues, Chao Phraya Surasak Montri proposedthe metric approach as the
basis in B.E.2440 but it was not successful.
When
Chao Phraya Thewetwongsewiwat was the Minster of Agriculture, he recovered
only the measurement (Tuang) for consideration since Siam had the rice
products that need to be measured so he drafted the Rate, Bucket, and
Tanan Act B.E.2443 and proposed to the King. However,other Ministers thought
that when the Act was drafted, other types of measurement shall be added.
Rolin Jacmingnes, the Advisor, and Mr. Chlesser, Legal Advisor newly drafted
the Tuang and Wad Act B.E.2443 to use the Metric Approach.In addition,
His Majesty the King set up the committee in B.E.2445 to consider which
types of measurement machine shall be used as the standard and the Committee
proposed the report to the King in B.E.2448 to use the Metric Approach
but such issues were pending again.
The measurement law issued in B.E.2466 was the new issue that
people had never got used to since the metric approach is the new approach.
Therefore, the Department of Commercial Registration prepared the advertising
so Thai people learnt metric approach via radio broadcasting. The Department
regularly wrote the article via radio broadcasting twice a month and persuaded
merchants and people who already had and used the measurement machine in
the metric approach can used such machine to ask for certificate. The merchant
who aimed to trade via measurement machine in metric approach can ask for
license as the person who make, order, repair, or sell the measurement and
weight machine.
In B.E.2452, the Ministry of Agriculture contacted
the International Bureau of Weights and Measures to apply for the member
in the international agreement regarding weight and measures in metric approach.
Chao Phraya Wongsanupraphan, the Minister, prepared the letter to His Majesty
the King Vajiravudh that Siam should participate in the international agreement
regarding weight and measures in metric approach so the King assigned the
Minister of Interior, Minister of Finance, Ministry of Metropolis to meet
and brainstorm this issue again. The meeting proposed the opinion to the
King in B.E. 2445 that we should accept the metric approach and the Ministry
of Agriculture informed the intention to the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures in France andSiam was the member in B.E.2455 when His Royal
Highness Prince Raphipat was the Minister
When the Commercial Council was established, the weight and
measurement duties were transferred to the Commercial Council in B.E.2463
and His Majesty the King ordered to issue the Weight and Measurement Act
on 17 December B.E.2465. After issuance such Act for one month, His Majesty
the King ordered to establish the Department of Commercial Registration
on 16 January B.E.2466 (April is counted as the first month of the year).
As abovementioned, in addition to transferring the measurement
duties from the Commercial Council to the new department, at the same time,
the commercial registration duties were transferred from other ministries,sub-ministries
and departments to the Commercial Registration Department as follows :
1. Partnership and Company Registration DutiesOriginally,
these duties were under the Ministry of justice and they were transferred
to Ministry of Commerce on 16 January B.E.2466 (the same date as the date
of the Commercial Registration Department’s establishment) according to
the amendment of the Partnership and Company Act B.E.2443,section 4 that
“The Chamber of Partnership and Company Registration that was established
by the Minister of Justice according to Section 6 of the Partnership and
Company Act B.E.2443 shall be transferred to Ministry of Commerce” and the
announcement on 16 January B.E.2466 that the company registration established
by His Majesty the King’s Special letter shall be transferred from Ministry
of Agriculture to the Department of Commercial Registration.
2. Insurancehas been the pioneer in insurance for a long
time. However, in Thailand, it started in His Majesty the King Rama IV Era
namely, at that time, Thailand conduct various trading transactions with
foreigners. Therefore, many foreigners entered Thailand to set up many stores
and some of such stores were the agent of foreign insurance companies that
conduct the marine insurance business and fire insurance. In King Rama V
Era, the insurance operations were still the same as in King Rama IV Era,
namely, the stores were the insurance agent and it can be stated that at
that time, there were no direct insurance businesses in Thailand, except
the Siam-Chinese Ship Company that obtained the special power in operating
the marine insurance and fire insurance.
However, the insurance that started in King Rama IV Era and
nobody paid much attention to such insurance business like now shall be
viewed that it has occurred for more than 60 years ago starting from fire
insurance, marine insurance to life insurance. However, for other types
of insurance such as car insurance, it has also occurred for a long time
too such as Siam Import Store (previously, Kerr and co.) was the agent of
Motor Union Car Insurance Company.
Needless to say, various types of insurance are not new to
Thailand and the insurance duties are under the responsibilities of the
Department of Commercial Registration until B.E.2511 and such duties were
transferred to the Office of the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Economic
Affairs and in B.E.2522, the Insurance Office was upgraded to the “Department”
and in B.E.2533, it has been renamed to “Department of Insurance”.
3. TrademarkIt is related to industry more than others. Previously,
Thailand did not have many industry issues and such issues were important
when western countries came to conduct trading businesses in King Rama IV
Era. In B.E.2453, the Government started the trademark businesses, namely,
establishing “The trademark Registration Unit” in the Ministry of Agriculture
and issued the Law on Trademarks and Trade Names of B.E.2457. The duties
at that time were obtaining the request and registering only without doing
any other duties further.
In B.E.2466, when the Department of Commercial Registration
was established and the trademark duties were transferred to the Department
of Commercial Registration but the department still performed only the registration
until B.E.2474, the new law called “Trademark Act B.E.2474” has been completely
registered.
4. PatentThere were not many patent issues in Thailand since
in the past, Thailand was an agricultural country, not industrial country
so there were no machinery and engine invented in Thailand like other industrial
countries. Actually, Thailand had some invented items such as loom and windmill.
However, such items are used in-house and are viewed as tradition.
They are also household utensils, not for trading. In King Rama IV Era,
more foreigners came to Thailand and established stores, pier, and mills.The
invention foreigners brought into Thailand had already been under patent
but they were not invented in Thailand.In King Rama V Era, His Majesty the
King thought that Thailand should issue the law to protect inventor and
designer like other countries so the first Patent law was drafted in B.E.
2468 when Phra Komarakul Montri was the Director of Commercial Registration
and after the draft, there were no further actions.
In King Rama VII Era, about B.E.2472, the King initiated
to issue the law to protect the invention and appointed the committee for
drafting consisting of M.C. Thongchuathammachart Thongtham, the Director
of Commercial Registration Department and Mr. Martin, the Director of UK
Patent Office to draft the Law on Patents and Designs and the draft was
proposed to HRH Prince Kampanengpetch, the Minister of Ministry of Commerce
and Transport, and in the same year, M.C. Thongchuathammachart Thongtham
attended the business visit regarding the patent management in UK but such
draft was not be completely considered again.
After changing the regime in B.E.2475, every government considered
the patent law but it was suspended until General Kriengsak Chamanun was
the Prime Minister and the Patent Act B.E.2521 was issued on 25 December
B.E.2521.
In B.E.2535, the patent and trademark duties under the Department
of Commercial Registration, and the copyright duties under the Department
of Fine Arts, Ministry of Education were transferred to the“Department of
Intellectual Capital” on 3 May B.E.2535.
Since the Department of Commercial Registration has been established
in B.E.2466, the department has been expanded and adjusted many times in
order to be proper with the additional mission and duties. The latest change
was that the name of the department has been changed to “Department of Business
Development” in B.E.2545 and the highest executives of the department have
been all the directors with the name as follows:
as
enacted in the Organization of State Administration Act (Fifth Amendment)
B.E. 2545 and the Act Amending Ministry, Sub-Ministry and Department B.E.2545.
When
Chao Phraya Thewetwongsewiwat was the Minster of Agriculture, he recovered
only the measurement (Tuang) for consideration since Siam had the rice
products that need to be measured so he drafted the Rate, Bucket, and
Tanan Act B.E.2443 and proposed to the King. However,other Ministers thought
that when the Act was drafted, other types of measurement shall be added.
Rolin Jacmingnes, the Advisor, and Mr. Chlesser, Legal Advisor newly drafted
the Tuang and Wad Act B.E.2443 to use the Metric Approach.In addition,
His Majesty the King set up the committee in B.E.2445 to consider which
types of measurement machine shall be used as the standard and the Committee
proposed the report to the King in B.E.2448 to use the Metric Approach
but such issues were pending again. 
