Tax Judgment EP9 Stamp Duty(Hire-of-work)

Q: Is a hire-of-work document, which is signed and states the employer’s and contractor’s address, subject to stamp duty?

A: A document setting out hire of work details, including the names of the employer and contractor, the date, reference number of the document, code, item, amount, price per unit, and total price, with or without the signatures, and which requires the employer’s order each time, Shall not be deemed as meeting the required characteristics of a hire-of-work agreement. Instead, it is only evidence of the juristic act in accordance with Section 587 of Civil and Commercial Code which prescribes that “the hire of work is a contract whereby a person, called contractor, agrees to accomplish a definite work for another person, called employer, who agrees to pay him a remuneration of the result of the work. Thus, such document shall not be subject to stamp duty in accordance with Nature of Instrument No. 4 of Stamp Duty Schedule.

Supreme Court Judgment No. 427/2565 The Court noted that the hire-of-work document only contained the names of the employer and contractor, the date, reference number of the hire-of-work document, code, item, amount, price per unit, and total price. The Court held that the law does not prescribe that a hire-of-work agreement must be made in writing. Moreover, the characteristics of the business operations of the Plaintiff required the employer’s order. This means that whenever the employer placed an order, a hire-of-work document was prepared on each occasion. The Court determined that such hire-of-work document was only evidence of the juristic act and thus shall not be regarded as a hire-of-work agreement which would be subject to stamp duty in accordance with Nature of Instrument No. 4 of Stamp Duty Schedule, Thai Revenue Code.