Harley

[coogan707]

I want to bring my Harley to Thailand anybody out there know the procedures and cost

[guzzi850m2]

Sadly not worth doing, countless topics about it, the taxes will make it extremely expensive and you will have to pay for exhaust/noise(DB) tests as well.

 

HD will open an assembly plant here next year I think, hopefully making some selected models way cheaper, could be anything from 30-50% cheaper than they are now, I guess.  

[M1Tanker]

This is a partial cut and paste including edits from one of my postings on this forum. 

 

I completed the permanent importation of my motorcycle (2008 BMW R1200GS Adventure) into Thailand in 2016.  I also obtained the green registration book and Thai license plate.  The process was long and required a lot of paperwork.

 

Here are some recommended questions to answer prior to starting an attempt to import a motorcycle into Thailand:

• Are you trying to permanently import your motorcycle?
• What kind of visa will you be coming to Thailand on?
• How well documented is your motorcycle? All original sales documentation? All registration documents? Motorcycle driver's licenses to include expired and international drivers licenses? Is there a lien against the motorcycle?
• Do you have a yellow tambien baan (house registration)? (NOTE: This was the first key Thai document that I needed to proceed onto dealing with the Department of Foreign Trade and Thai Customs. This was incredibly bureaucratic for me.)

 

There are two Thai government agencies that one needs to interact with in order to permanently import a motorcycle into Thailand:

1. Department of Foreign Trade within the Ministry of Commerce (NOTE: An import license must be obtained as well as an import permit for the motorcycle. I did NOT obtain these critical documents from the Department of Transportation.) 

2. Customs Department (http://en.customs.go.th/content.php?ini_content=individuals_151007_01&lang=en&left_menu=menu_individuals_151007_01). (NOTE: This is the new link as it appears that Thai Customs has updated its website.)

3. (NOTE: I did contact the Thai Industrial Standards Institute and they informed me that because I was importing a used/second hand motorcycle they did not play a role in the importation process.)

 

I did have to pay import duties and the motorcycle was depreciated in accordance with the formula that can be found in the Thai Customs link above.  The cost wasn't zero baht but it was considerably less than a new or used equivalent BMW here in Thailand.

 

Once I completed the importation, I then took that paperwork to my local Department of Transport.  I filled out more paperwork and paid a small processing fee.  Weeks later I received my green registration book and license plate.

 

AlI personnel that I interacted with at all of the aforementioned Thai government agencies were professional and ethical.  I will point out that many of the personnel in these offices are not completely familiar with permanently importing a motorcycle because they just don't see it happen that often. Patience, thoroughness, and professional determination are required.  I found that researching the process online, asking a lot of questions, and communicating with each office in person or online to be effective.  I started the process over a year prior to shipping my motorcycle.