Thailand Recommends for Condominium Juristic Person AGMs during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Tilleke & Gibbins, one of our Corporate Members of the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce has kindly shared the following legal opinion on a number of issues linked to the COVID-19 situation. In this article, Tilleke & Gibbins is providing recommendations for Condominium Juristic Person AGMs during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

According to Section 42/1 of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), an annual general meeting (AGM) of joint owners in a condominium project must be held within 120 days from the end of its fiscal year, in order to approve, among other things, the balance sheet, annual report, and the appointment of an auditor.

As part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Lands issued a notification on March 23, 2020, recommending that condominium juristic persons (CJPs) proceed with AGMs as follows:

• If the deadline for holding an AGM falls within the COVID-19 outbreak period, which is deemed an unavoidable situation, the AGM should be postponed until the situation returns to normal. In this circumstance, the CJP manager will be required to notify all the joint owners about the reasons for such postponement and prepare the balance sheet and annual report, which will be published and disclosed to the joint owners in advance, so that they are ready for the AGM’s approval once the situation returns to normal; or
• If the AGM cannot be postponed due to necessity, the CJP must encourage the joint owners to reduce the number of participants in the meeting by jointly appointing proxy holders to attend the AGM, in accordance with the Condominium Act, which rules that a proxy holder can represent up to three joint owners of condominium units. Alternatively, the AGM may be held electronically, as prescribed by the relevant laws governing electronic meetings.

If you have further queries about these regulations, please contact Chaiwat Keratisuthisathorn at [email protected] or +66 2056 5507.