The Restaurant Association opposes the new alcohol law requiring restaurant operators to share some responsibility for any issues caused by drunk patrons.
The revised Alcoholic Beverage Control Act of 2025 prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to people under 20, as well as those who are already drunk.
Under the new rule, alcoholic beverage sellers must verify a buyer's age, using a national ID card or other officially issued identification.
Alcoholic beverage sellers are advised to assess a person's level of intoxication only when necessary.
Any seller who violates these rules, or if a drunk customer's actions directly result in harm to others, has to take legal responsibility and pay compensation.
The president of the Restaurant Association said the new law poses a major challenge for restaurants.
If an incident occurs and a drunk individual claims to have been served at a particular establishment, the burden falls on the restaurant to prove in court that it did not serve alcohol to that person while they were already drunk.
A person may have consumed alcohol at multiple venues, the president said.
There are also complexities involving group orders, where one member appears sober while others are drunk.
Restaurants are being urged to install CCTV cameras with audio recording, he said, which adds to costs.
"This adds costs for restaurants of all sizes," said Mr Chanon.
He called on authorities to scrap the new rules.
