The Trade Competition Board (TCB) yesterday agreed to press its unfair-trade charges against AP Honda, the local distributor of Honda motorcycles, saying the case now hinges on prosecutors.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said additional inquiries and investigation results about the charges as required by the Attorney-General's Office are complete and the board sees fit to forward unfair trade charges against AP Honda before the statute of limitations expires in April.

The case, based on distributors' complaints, dates back to 2003, when the TCB ruled that AP Honda had violated Section 29 of the Trade Competition Act by indirectly forcing its agents to distribute only Honda motorcycles.

AP Honda, which had a 70% market share, tended to block agents from selling other brands, distributors said. The TCB sent its findings to court, but prosecutors declined to press the case and asked for more information.

The Act prohibits business operators from engaging in unfair practices that destroy, damage, block or limit the operations of rivals or force rivals to give up their business. Violations are punishable by a jail term for the authorised managing director of up to three years and/or a fine of up to 6 million baht.

If the attorney-general finds AP Honda in breach of the Act, the company will be subject to the stated penalties.

Santichai Santawanpas, deputy director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the ministry would accelerate submitting the case to the Attorney-General's Office next week.

"Now it's up to the prosecutors whether to submit the case to the attorney-general," he said.

Mr Santichai said the evidence shows that the Japanese motorcycle firm's practices violated Section 29 of the Act.

He said if prosecutors decline to pursue charges, the ministry may need to revise and amend the Trade Competition Act to ensure real enforcement, especially with regard to the time frame for investigations and the statute of limitations.

The talk is that if you sign a AP Honda dealership agreement you cannot sell other motorcycles in the same showroom. Honda apparently makes some exceptions as I know of some bigger Honda dealers which also sell other motorcycle brands.

But according to the Trade Competition Board, AP Honda has violated Section 29 of the Trade Competition Act by indirectly forcing its agents to distribute only Honda motorcycles. So it's up to the Thai legal system to rule on this matter.

I can think of several arguments why AP Honda will have some limitations for dealers, for example if Honda provided the dealer with all POS material and equipment, trained the mechanical staff and have some form of easy payment scheme in place I personally will also feel upset if a dealer would start selling other motorcycles while using the equipment I provided to customers who likely come to the showroom because of advertising Honda paid for....

Thai prosecutors have decided not to pursue unfair-trade charges against AP Honda, the local Honda motorcycle distributor.

With the statute of limitations in the case ending this month, the move puts to rest a decade-long legal conflict.

Vatchari Vimooktayon, Commerce Ministry permanent secretary, said the Attorney-General's Office had found there was insufficient evidence to take up the case against AP Honda.

The Trade Competition Board (TCB) agreed earlier this year to press the charges against the company.

The case dates back to 2003 when TCB ruled that AP Honda had violated Section 29 of the Trade Competition Act by indirectly forcing its agents to distribute only Honda motorcycles.

AP Honda, which then had a 70% market share, was accused by distributors of blocking agents from selling other motorcycle brands.