Customs woes at Swampy

[pearciderman]

On 2/28/2018 at 1:29 PM, Briggsy said:

This may have been the Excise Dept. rather than Customs. Depends where he was stopped at Suvannaphoom. It is a moneyspinner. They have spotters looking for evidence of purchases made in Middle East transit airports (where limits are not applied, boarding passes not really checked and the fags are very cheap). I believe the fine is 10 times the unpaid duty. Ouch.

 

I suggest you don't do it or at least hide the duty free bag.

 

"Punishments for those who avoid the declaration of prohibited/controlled items  
 - Prosecution, and/or confiscation if the Customs officers discover any dutiable goods  
 - Prosecution, and/or confiscation  of the prohibited/controlled items which do not have a proper documentation with written authorization
 - Most severe penalty : a fine amounting to 4 times the value of the goods plus duties and taxes and/or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both."

[jerojero]

Don't smoke. Moot. Nuff said.

[Letseng]

12 hours ago, timendres said:

It is not that I like smoking so much, but I do like smoking a good cigarette. A good cigarette is simply not on sale in TH. Fedex, USPS, UPS, et.al., will not ship cigarettes even within the US. But thank you for the suggestion.

Never knew that there are good cigarettes. Well, one never stops learning.

[pearciderman]

On 2/28/2018 at 1:29 PM, Briggsy said:

This may have been the Excise Dept. rather than Customs. Depends where he was stopped at Suvannaphoom. It is a moneyspinner. They have spotters looking for evidence of purchases made in Middle East transit airports (where limits are not applied, boarding passes not really checked and the fags are very cheap). I believe the fine is 10 times the unpaid duty. Ouch.

 

I suggest you don't do it or at least hide the duty free bag.

 

Very doubtful;  Excise duty is collected on the goods produced by a manufacturer that are to be sold in that particular country. Custom duty is levied on the goods that are imported from another country .

[Briggsy]

7 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

 

Very doubtful;  Excise duty is collected on the goods produced by a manufacturer that are to be sold in that particular country. Custom duty is levied on the goods that are imported from another country .

This is absolutely false information.

 

Excise duty in Thailand is levied on both domestically produced goods and imported goods.

 

e.g. Imported vehicles can be subject to 5 (yes five!) individual taxes including excise duty. Please see attached link.

 

http://en.customs.go.th/content.php?ini_content=traders_and_business_151007_02&lang=en&left_menu=menu_sample_of_duty_assessment

 

It is well known that at the airport Excise officials wait after Customs and look for those carrying items on which excise duty has not been paid. Many people have been stopped and fined after passing Customs.

[pearciderman]

34 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

This is absolutely false information.

 

Excise duty in Thailand is levied on both domestically produced goods and imported goods.

 

e.g. Imported vehicles can be subject to 5 (yes five!) individual taxes including excise duty. Please see attached link.

 

http://en.customs.go.th/content.php?ini_content=traders_and_business_151007_02&lang=en&left_menu=menu_sample_of_duty_assessment

 

It is well known that at the airport Excise officials wait after Customs and look for those carrying items on which excise duty has not been paid. Many people have been stopped and fined after passing Customs.

 

That page is out of date.

 

"

A couple of months ago, Thailand introduced a new Excise Tax law, officially called the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2560 (2017).

The law – which came into effect on 16 September – brings together seven previous laws, and is designed to boost transparency, fairness and appropriateness, while improving regulations in the area to better prepare the country for rigorous competition in international trade.

Put simply the tax is now being calculated based on the retail price, while it was previously calculated based on ex-factory or CIF (cost, insurance and freight) prices."

[Briggsy]

43 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

 

That page is out of date.

 

"

A couple of months ago, Thailand introduced a new Excise Tax law, officially called the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2560 (2017).

The law – which came into effect on 16 September – brings together seven previous laws, and is designed to boost transparency, fairness and appropriateness, while improving regulations in the area to better prepare the country for rigorous competition in international trade.

Put simply the tax is now being calculated based on the retail price, while it was previously calculated based on ex-factory or CIF (cost, insurance and freight) prices."

LOL deflection. Can't admit you were wrong and you gave out incorrect information. I understand.

 

Excise duty is still charged on imported goods, in direct contrast to your earlier statement, irrespective of the change in calculation.

[varun]

Actually, you're both right.

Excise duty, in general, is usually charged on locally produced goods, not imports.

This is paid by the manufacturer, not you, the consumer.

 

However, when it comes to automotive goods, the local customs and excise department will charge an excise duty [on top of the import VAT and import (customs) duty] to the importer.

 

Whether the importer is a car dealer or the consumer himself is irrelevant.

 

 

[oldlakey]

11 hours ago, jerojero said:

Don't smoke. Moot. Nuff said.

Nowadays I only smoke after carnal knowledge, hence a packet / pack of fags lasts me quite some time

[pearciderman]

19 hours ago, Briggsy said:

LOL deflection. Can't admit you were wrong and you gave out incorrect information. I understand.

 

Excise duty is still charged on imported goods, in direct contrast to your earlier statement, irrespective of the change in calculation.

 

LOL, very good. My point was that you were using incorrect information to prove me wrong - you can see how that is ironic.

[elgenon]

Sorry, I don't understand the idea that travelers get to make the rules for the country they travel to. I'm sure Thailand is upset at losing travelers who don't follow their laws.

 

I would like to tell the Thai government what I have to do to get a visa and an extension. I would make my life a lot easier. But, dang it, they don't listen to me.

[Techno Viking]

I came through this morning at 6am and not a single person to be seen at customs, I shoulda brought a suitcase full of ciggies !!

[Thian]

On 3/2/2018 at 10:35 AM, pearciderman said:

 

"Punishments for those who avoid the declaration of prohibited/controlled items  
 - Prosecution, and/or confiscation if the Customs officers discover any dutiable goods  
 - Prosecution, and/or confiscation  of the prohibited/controlled items which do not have a proper documentation with written authorization
 - Most severe penalty : a fine amounting to 4 times the value of the goods plus duties and taxes and/or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both."

So how could the german couple that came into thailand with 400 cigarettes each be fined 30.000 baht?

 

The value of those 400 cigarettes who were illegal would have been 1200 baht in Dubai, so the fine should have been maximum 4 times 1200 = 4800 baht.

 

 

[Techno Viking]

8 hours ago, Thian said:

So how could the german couple that came into thailand with 400 cigarettes each be fined 30.000 baht?

 

The value of those 400 cigarettes who were illegal would have been 1200 baht in Dubai, so the fine should have been maximum 4 times 1200 = 4800 baht.

 

 

Yeah I reckon the fine is calculated on the cost in Thailand, not Dubai.

 

Way back in 2010 it used to be a fine of Bt467 per packet (20 cigarettes) but the cost of a pack has nearlydoubled since then so it makes sense the fine has as well !