Bangkok crackdown on street vendors: Pay up or pave the way

Bangkok City Hall is set to implement stringent measures aimed at regulating street vendors, targeting their income, enforcing tax compliance, and ultimately eliminating hawking on pavements.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt announced these measures following a meeting focused on enhancing the orderliness of the city’s surroundings.

New regulations for vending on streets and in other public areas will soon come into effect. Vendors currently occupying permissible public spaces will be required to pay taxes where applicable.

Eventually, even street vendors whose income does not fall into a taxable bracket must register in the national income database and tax system.

The 58 year old Chadchart clarified that vendors who legally occupied public areas for a year, with a monthly income exceeding 25,000 baht must vacate these spaces and seek to rent other areas to continue their business.

Vendors must adhere to their designated spots and maintain cleanliness in the streets. The city chief cautioned that any failure to comply could lead to the cancellation of street vending in currently allowed areas.

“We want the city to be neat and tidy. In those places where the street vendors do not overstep their mark and trouble pedestrians, the permitted areas will remain open.”

These measures will undergo a public hearing and may be modified, if necessary, before being officially published in the Royal Gazette.

In line with the governor’s desire to maintain order and cleanliness on Bangkok’s streets, he emphasised that street vending will be phased out over time in favour of commercial areas. Vendors will need to relocate and conduct their trade in commercial areas.

City Hall plans to collaborate with businesses to allocate low-rent areas for vendors to ensure that their livelihoods remain unimpacted and that public vendors can continue earning while the public retains access to convenient, and inexpensive food, reported Bangkok Post.