Is DHL ripping me off

[realenglish1]

I was notified that a shipment of vitamins has arrived from the USA at Thai customs The cost of the vitamins is $30 US Dollars

 

DHL just informed me that to clear the vitamins from Customs the want to charge me 1,500 baht which is more than the cost of

 

the goods

 

 Is his normal on a very small shipment or are they ripping me off or both

[Lamkyong]

i think its now time to realize that DHL Thailand  is managed by Thais   who in turn are in bed  with the  relevant  authorities    

[Just Weird]

I had an item from overseas held by the local Post Office recently, not by a courier, as Customs duty was due on it.  I found out that it being held by tracking it online before the official notice was delivered to me.

 

At that stage I did not know that the notice was in the post to me so I phoned the (English-speaking) Customs Dept (02 667 6000) to find out what I had to do.  The girl assumed that I was disputing the duty levied on it and said that I should ask for a Re-assessment Form for an appeal.  That may apply to couriered packages also, so if I were you I'd call Customs first, then DHL and try to renegotiate it as there is an official process to do that.

 

Bear in mind that duty is calculated not on the value of the goods but the CIF valuation, which on an item from the US, could be double the price you actually paid for the vitamins.

Edited February 20, 2018 by Just Weird

[Rc2702]

Vitamins may be subject to FDA and that will bump up cost and may incur further processing/delay/demurrage costs.longer you wait the more costs will rise and I would not be surprised if they change their mind and bump up cost due to the medicinal use factor. Dhl/UPS/TNT - reciever beware.

 

8000 baht bill was my lesson. Goods Value £150.

 

 

[ukrules]

Consider yourself lucky that they didn't ask for a full list of chemical ingredients of the contents and a copy of your FDA approved permit to import the goods.

 

Private couriers also often charge a fee on top of the duty which would be pretty standard I believe.

[Mark1066]

I think DHL charge a 500 baht brokerage fee for processing your package through customs, on top of whatever the import duty and VAT is. Still, if you mean that the cost of your vitamins, including shipping, was only $30 then I would say they have made a mistake. I think I paid around 30% when I made the mistake of ordering a load of vitamins from the USA a few years ago.

 

1000 THB would be the correct import duty and VAT on a package that cost around $81 including shipping (and insurance if any)

Edited February 20, 2018 by Mark1066

[HarrySeaman]

Yes, DHL is ripping you off. 

 

The way to stop it is to get your items through the mail.  Read what it says in the link below and you will see that up to 1500 Bt is duty free.

 

Thai Customs - IMPORTING POSTAL ITEMS

 

If your vitamins are coming from the USA then next time order from iHERB.  They ship to Thailand for a minimum cost and I have never had to pay duty.

[Formaleins]

DHL will pull this scam on almost any package from outside of Thailand - I learned my lesson with those crooks a while back, from now on if the delivery is by DHL, I simply buy from somewhere else. The Thai Post or EMS very rarely come up with additional charges, and if they do you will find them to be a lot more reasonable.

 

I was quoted over 10K Baht import fees on goods worth 100 USD by DHL, I told them to stick it and keep the goods.

 

Thai Post / EMS once charged me 5 Baht for a 7000 Baht import from Korea, after paying the 5 Baht I was given a half sheet of unused Korean postage stamps......work that one out if you can?

Edited February 21, 2018 by Formaleins

[csabo]

Call their bluff and refuse it. It will probably show up on your doorstep next week. I've see it happen even with "illegal gambling contraband". They said they were going to seize a poker table. My friend told them to go for it. Got delivered a week later. 

[Sheist]

1 hour ago, HarrySeaman said:

 

If your vitamins are coming from the USA then next time order from iHERB.  They ship to Thailand for a minimum cost and I have never had to pay duty.

 

I can confirm.  I "bit the bullet" since they said they ship by DHL "mail service", and I feared they would be expensive.  Thankfully, they arrived without any fees.

 

However, the total value of the order was only 750 baht, including shipping, so try to stay well under 1000 baht for your complete order plus shipping.  iHerb does work.

[atyclb]

my experience with dhl to thailand is also negative. the company that i ordered from in europe told me the shipping charges were paid in full and i would be subject to thai gov duty only. i paid the duty but dhl asked an addition delivery fee that looked like a scam.

 

send via postal service from the origen country and AVOID dhl.  thai post charged me vat only on a new digital camera coming from usa.

[Shackleton123]

18 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

Vitamins may be subject to FDA and that will bump up cost and may incur further processing/delay/demurrage costs.longer you wait the more costs will rise and I would not be surprised if they change their mind and bump up cost due to the medicinal use factor. Dhl/UPS/TNT - reciever beware.

 

8000 baht bill was my lesson. Goods Value £150.

 

 

DHL asked for 1500 THB for a pen drive worth 50 THB, I declined and told them to keep it with my compliments.

[pby92]

In the other way I order a Dtac SIM card deliver to France by TNT . TNT charge me 40€ processing fee. 

I order one in Philippines deliver by mail no cost. So it’s the same business in our European countries 

[chicowoodduck]

Wow, I have have several packages of vitamins shipped to me here in Pattaya over the years via the USPS.....never, ever paid any duty or tax? 

 

Best part they were delivered right to my door....easy peasy....??

 

 

[sjbrownderby]

The threshold for charging duty and taxes is 1000 THB and this number will include the cost of shipping. Generally the cost of shipping by regular mail is much cheaper. My experience with DHL is that they will assess duty on the total cost including shipping and then add on what they call a 'handling charge' for collecting the fees on behalf of the government. As a recent example of the the excesses of courier companies I just received a printed tee shirt I ordered from the UK from a seller on ebay. Initially the price quoted (automatically using the 'global shipping programme') was £53.51 but this included all fees including import and tax etc. This I thought was a bit steep given that the price of the tee shirt was £14.95. I asked the seller if they would send it by regular mail and explained how courier companies tend inflate costs fees in order to be sure of collecting their own extra fees on top of the cost of carriage whilst cosying up to the government. The seller looked into the cost of sending the tee-shirt by Royal Mail tracked/Thailand Post and the cost was £9.25 which put the total cost right around the threshold for duty and tax. The tee-shirt was mailed out to me on Feb 14th and it was delivered today with no duty or tax to pay and the full value was declared on the customs sticker. My cost of £24.21 was much much cheaper than the £53.51 through the 'global shipping programme'. I learned this lesson the hard way a few years ago and paid for it. The shipping time by regular mail was also quicker than that by the courier company. I live in a small village miles from anywhere and my regular postman usually knows where to find me if I am not at home when there is a package to be signed for where courier companies have real difficulty sometimes in finding my place. One courier driver even suggested leaving a package at a shop he was delivering to...........20 KM from where I live!...........he just did not want to drive to a place so far away. 

[connda]

3 hours ago, HarrySeaman said:

Yes, DHL is ripping you off. 

 

The way to stop it is to get your items through the mail.  Read what it says in the link below and you will see that up to 1500 Bt is duty free.

 

Thai Customs - IMPORTING POSTAL ITEMS

 

If your vitamins are coming from the USA then next time order from iHERB.  They ship to Thailand for a minimum cost and I have never had to pay duty.

iHerb states that packages with contents valued over $46 shipped to Thailand may be subject to customs fees.  So, probably a good idea to keep the cost of what you're shipping under $46 if buying from iHerb. 
I hope that doesn't change because it would be a real pain in the behind.  Been buying from iHerb for years.

Edited February 21, 2018 by connda

[connda]

16 minutes ago, chicowoodduck said:

Wow, I have have several packages of vitamins shipped to me here in Pattaya over the years via the USPS.....never, ever paid any duty or tax? 

 

Best part they were delivered right to my door....easy peasy....??

 

 

Just curious.  What online company?

[yogavnture]

u should have had item sent to a freind in usa. then taken out of containers.  in a baggie. then have them send to you with declared value of one dollar.

[Suradit69]

22 hours ago, realenglish1 said:

Is his normal on a very small shipment or are they ripping me off or both

DHL, UPS, FedEx all rip you off when it comes to imposition of customs duty. There have been many, many threads on the subject.

 

21 hours ago, Lamkyong said:

i think its now time to realize that DHL Thailand  is managed by Thais   who in turn are in bed  with the  relevant  authorities    

Usual Thai bashing nonsense. The couriers are international and they rip off people in the same way everywhere.  Far better to ship and have cleared via the Thai post office which, ironically, is Thai managed and often charges no duty or only a reasonable amount.

 

Many sellers on eBay or AMZN use global shipping services that use the couriers and they will pre-charge you exorbitant amounts before anyone in Thailand has anything to do with the shipment.

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Suradit69

[thaiguzzi]

To the OP - yes!

Never, ever, use DHL, Fed Ex, UPs et al.

Always use the country of origin's mail provider.

Had particularly good results with US, UK, Oz and German post offices.

Yes, there will be added duty on higher value products (over 2000 Baht), but it's not a rip off compared to any of the private couriers.

[fredge45]

3 hours ago, Formaleins said:

DHL will pull this scam on almost any package from outside of Thailand - I learned my lesson with those crooks a while back, from now on if the delivery is by DHL, I simply buy from somewhere else. The Thai Post or EMS very rarely come up with additional charges, and if they do you will find them to be a lot more reasonable.

 

I was quoted over 10K Baht import fees on goods worth 100 USD by DHL, I told them to stick it and keep the goods.

 

Thai Post / EMS once charged me 5 Baht for a 7000 Baht import from Korea, after paying the 5 Baht I was given a half sheet of unused Korean postage stamps......work that one out if you can?

All of the courier service are tied to the Customs office - not only DHL but FedEx, TNT, UPS - they collect fees, charge you for doing so and then probably get a cut of the fee as well.

 

Sent a hard drive for warranty to Singapore.  HD made in Thailand, purchased in Thailand.  FedEx wanted to charge duty on the returned HD - refused and told them to keep it... delivered with a big 'sorry' about a week later.

 

Seldom, if ever, duty charged when items are sent by ThaiPost.

[ianf]

DHL are the absolute pits. If a supplier wants to send me something via DHL I ask them to use an alternative or I cancel. They have embedded customs officers and it is a moot point about how much corruption may or may not be at the heart of this. An example: I ordered a replacement bicycle frame from the UK 800 UK pounds. That's the list price. On the invoice the supplier deducted the UK 20% VAT which made it 640. They then deducted 10% which this supplier always does with me because I have been a good customer for XX years. So that's 576. Shipping was free from  UK. Happy with that.

First of all the customs freaks at DHL added the 20% & 10% back on making my original purchase price 880 with shipping which was not charged to me as I was given free shipping; they then they added 30%, handling charge of I think a 1000 baht, call it 20 UK. So now we are at 1164. Then it's another 7.5%. So now we are at 1251. That is more than double the original price . I refused to accept delivery. They then came back and negotiated. Their original charge of 675UK (approx 29000 baht) was eventually reduced to 8000 baht after representations to DHL in the UK and my refusal to accept the original charge. Why people use DHL is a mystery to me. AVOID

Edited February 21, 2018 by ianf

[Golden Triangle]

The staff Christmas party at DHL must be a right hoot, I can imagine a huge pile of refused parcels 10 meters high and the staff told to dive in and help themselves, now that's what I call a lucky dip.

[simon43]

I recently purchased a simple wire antenna from a US company for my radio amateur hobby. It cost $229. Having had previous experience with the 'kidnap and hold for financial ransom' tactics of DHL, UPS etc in Thailand, I wanted it to be shipped via USPS.

But the antenna support rods were too long to ship via USPS. The shipper offered to ship via UPS (no way!) or UPS I-Parcel, a new service where all handling and customs import charges are prepaid, thus eliminating any ransom tactics on the Thai side. (Or so I thought...)

So I paid an extra $143 to cover all shipping, handling and customs import charges.

The antenna package arrives in Bangkok and is promptly kidnapped by UPS Thailand, who send me the usual email demanding shipping, handling and custom fees.

I politely reply to them, pointing out that I'm using their I-Parcel service, so all fees are already paid 100%, so please deliver my package pronto.

UPS Thailand goes quiet for 2 days and then sends me an email to say that this antenna needs an import licence! (This is rubbish, because it is a personal import and no import licence is needed, as confirmed by RAST - Radio Amateur Society of Thailand - of which I am a lifelong member).

UPS Thailand refuse to deliver the package...

So I tell them to send it back to the shipper in the US and I'll get my full refund from them.

Get this!! UPS Thailand refuse to send the package back to the USA with the flawed argument "Since it needs an import licence to enter Thailand, it must therefore need an EXPORT licence to be returned to the USA shipper...." (That's Thai logic for you).

So here I am, with an expensive antenna sitting in UPS Thailand, who refuse to deliver it, refuse to return it to the shipper and - oh they also refuse to refund my money because it is not lost or damaged....

Any suggestions?

[Gulfsailor]

6 minutes ago, ianf said:

DHL are the absolute pits. If a supplier wants to send me something via DHL I ask them to use an alternative or I cancel. They have embedded customs officers and it is a moot point about how much corruption may or may not be at the heart of this. An example: I ordered a replacement bicycle frame from the UK 800 UK pounds. That's the list price. On the invoice the supplier deducted the UK 20% VAT which made it 640. They then deducted 10% which this supplier always does with me because I have been a good customer for XX years. So that's 576. Shipping was free from  UK. Happy with that.

First of all the customs freaks at DHL added the 20% & 10% back on making my original purchase price 880 with shipping which was not charged to me as I was given free shipping; they then they added 30%, handling charge of I think a 1000 baht, call it 20 UK. So now we are at 1164. Then it's another 7.5%. So now we are at 1251. That is more than double the original price . I refused to accept delivery. They then came back and negotiated. Their original charge of 675UK (approx 29000 baht) was eventually reduced to 8000 baht after representations to DHL in the UK and my refusal to accept the original charge. Why people use DHL is a mystery to me. AVOID

Its a mystery to me why so many people get upset with DHL and other couriers when it comes to assessing customs duties. It's standard practice around the world that shipments over a certain threshold will have duties (and VAT / sales tax) on them. These duties are based on the price of goods (before any discounts!) including shipping and insurance. If no shipping charge is specified customs assesses this themselves (normally 10-20% depending on mode of shipping). All duty rates and excise/luxury tax rates are published online. 

So as a buyer from goods abroad make sure that the seller;

- Adds an invoice which is plausible. Weird low values or 'gift descriptions' won't be accepted, and results in customs assessing fair market price themselves. 

- Writes the HS code and detailed description of the shipped goods on the invoice. 

- Only writes the final amount after applied discounts on the invoice. There shouldn't be any mention of discount at all on the invoice. 

- Notes the cost of shipping and insurance on the invoice. If the seller offers free shipping, then he should write down a plausible amount for the shipping anyway and deduct it from the goods price (without mentioning that, see point above)

- write the Incoterms on the invoice under which the goods are sold. 

 

The seller will also need all this info on the invoice to prepare his own export statements ( no biggie in US, but is a biggie in Europe, as without adequate export formalities the seller is still liable for VAT)

 

With all the above in place you will not have any surprise when importing goods into Thailand or any other country regardless of the Mail or courier service you use. 

 

(Disclaimer, as long as you don't try to import stuff that require a permit, like medicine, certain radio broadcast items, alcohol or tobacco)

 

[Mark1066]

28 minutes ago, Gulfsailor said:

Its a mystery to me why so many people get upset with DHL and other couriers when it comes to assessing customs duties. It's standard practice around the world that shipments over a certain threshold will have duties (and VAT / sales tax) on them. These duties are based on the price of goods (before any discounts!) including shipping and insurance. If no shipping charge is specified customs assesses this themselves (normally 10-20% depending on mode of shipping). All duty rates and excise/luxury tax rates are published online. 

So as a buyer from goods abroad make sure that the seller;

- Adds an invoice which is plausible. Weird low values or 'gift descriptions' won't be accepted, and results in customs assessing fair market price themselves. 

- Writes the HS code and detailed description of the shipped goods on the invoice. 

- Only writes the final amount after applied discounts on the invoice. There shouldn't be any mention of discount at all on the invoice. 

- Notes the cost of shipping and insurance on the invoice. If the seller offers free shipping, then he should write down a plausible amount for the shipping anyway and deduct it from the goods price (without mentioning that, see point above)

- write the Incoterms on the invoice under which the goods are sold. 

 

The seller will also need all this info on the invoice to prepare his own export statements ( no biggie in US, but is a biggie in Europe, as without adequate export formalities the seller is still liable for VAT)

 

With all the above in place you will not have any surprise when importing goods into Thailand or any other country regardless of the Mail or courier service you use. 

 

(Disclaimer, as long as you don't try to import stuff that require a permit, like medicine, certain radio broadcast items, alcohol or tobacco)

 

It's not standard practice to add a foreign country's VAT to the price before assessing your own duty and VAT on a total that includes the foreign country's VAT...makes no sense at all.

[hugh2121]

I had a similar problem with DHL. I ordered some supplements from Amazon, import duty paid in advance. I got a call from DHL stating that customs wanted to see my import licence. I told them that I didn't have one and to return the items to Amazon. I then contacted Amazon about the problem and they promised to send replacements FOC. I asked them to pack them in just a padded envelope and them via air mail via the post office. I received the supplements within 10 days, no problem. DHL would appear to be the problem.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

DHL Thailand employees must have regular garage sales of sundries ordered by farangs and refused on account of exorbitant excise duty. One wonders where they are advertised....

[Gulfsailor]

33 minutes ago, Mark1066 said:

It's not standard practice to add a foreign country's VAT to the price before assessing your own duty and VAT on a total that includes the foreign country's VAT...makes no sense at all.

That's not the fault of customs, but of the seller. They should invoice a 0% vat export invoice, instead of a price that includes unspecified vat and then deducting it. Any company used to exporting goods knows this. The problem nowadays is that any kid can start an (eBay) store online and sell worldwide, without knowing anything about exporting and importing. 

[Guitar God]

As someone who has imported and exported 100's of packages in countries all over the world, no, they're not ripping you off and no, it's not a Thai scam. 

 

All couriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS etc. have in house customs agents working with local customs. 

 

Any package with a value over $40 (cost of goods, shipping and insurance) is submitted to customs by the courier and import duty is calculated, then tax is added. Customs charges a fee of 200-500฿, the courier also charges a fee for their service. 

 

They only "scam" is if the cost of insurance isn't declared on the invoice, Thai customs adds 1% of the cost of the item. 

 

Want to avoid customs entirely on small packages? Send them by post or even registered post. The majority of the time they are delivered without any involvement of customs.