Lazada, Shopee and TikTok Shop agreed to roll back gross profit commission fees for Thai small businesses to January 1 levels for six months starting December 1, 2026.

The temporary reduction runs through May 31, 2027, and is projected to save 1.2 million merchants an estimated 1.93 billion baht in operating costs.

Wattanasak Sur-iam, director-general of the Department of Internal Trade, stepped in after the three platforms raised merchant commissions three separate times since January 2026. Those rapid hikes gave vendors little time to reprice stock or recalibrate working capital. Under the settlement, the rollback caps Lazada gross profit fees between 7.50 per cent and 11.60 per cent, sets Shopee rates from 8.03 per cent to 13.91 per cent, and pegs TikTok Shop fees at 11.24 per cent to 17.66 per cent depending on the product category. Electronics are excluded from the fee relief.

Access to the lower fee schedule comes with rigid revenue ceilings. Individual sole traders must record annual sales below 1.8 million baht, while registered legal corporate entities qualify only if yearly turnover stays at or below 3.5 million baht.

Relief is not automatic. Sellers must file applications directly with the Department of Business Development, provincial commerce branch offices or local administrative councils to secure the discounted commission tiers.

That administrative layer creates friction. Thousands of small operators run informal operations across social networks and marketplaces, meaning operators who fail to register through government channels will continue paying post-hike commissions during peak holiday trading.

For marketplace operators across Southeast Asia, the fee battle reflects a sharp pivot from subsidised user acquisition to aggressive take-rate monetisation.

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