Trying My Luck In Thailand

[gambler576]

i want to travel to thailand to send goods back to the uk, but i have no experience in this or of thailand. They will only be genuine goods not fake but i would like to know asmuch as possible about everthing, visas, taxes ,declaration of goods, what u can and cant do, how much you can send back on a normal tourist visa, and what u have to pay to the uk customs aswell. I will be very grateful if someone could spend the time to explain this to me, thanks.....

[opalhort]

i want to travel to thailand to send goods back to the uk, but i have no experience in this or of thailand.  They will only be genuine goods not fake but i would like to know asmuch as possible about everthing, visas, taxes ,declaration of goods, what u can and cant do, how much you can send back on a normal tourist visa, and what u have to pay to the uk customs aswell.  I will be very grateful if someone could spend the time to explain this to me, thanks..... o yeah if u want to email me its [email protected]

you can come to Thailand on any visa you like, even a 30 day entry stamp and buy as many goods as you like, then find a shipping agent who will send the stuff to the UK.

just make sure none of the goods are illegal or banned from export!

about UK customs duty you better find that out in the UK

opalhort

[simey]

Gambler, you really need to get a lot more information before you start - and this forum is usually more specific about the questions and responses. I'd recommend you do a lot more investigation and then come back with some specific questions. I'd also recommend you consider this VERY carefully - you are not the first to try something like this and you may find it's not as easy as it first appears.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

i want to travel to thailand to send goods back to the uk, but i have no experience in this or of thailand.  They will only be genuine goods not fake but i would like to know asmuch as possible about everthing, visas, taxes ,declaration of goods, what u can and cant do, how much you can send back on a normal tourist visa, and what u have to pay to the uk customs aswell.  I will be very grateful if someone could spend the time to explain this to me, thanks..... o yeah if u want to email me its [email protected]

you can come to Thailand on any visa you like, even a 30 day entry stamp and buy as many goods as you like, then find a shipping agent who will send the stuff to the UK.

just make sure none of the goods are illegal or banned from export!

about UK customs duty you better find that out in the UK

opalhort

Forget the 30 day permit or a tourist visa unless the concept of jail and deportation doesn't worry you.

[Khun Larry]

Forget the 30 day permit or a tourist visa unless the concept of jail and deportation doesn't worry you.

Explain.

Surely you can send goods back on a tourist visa.

[mbkudu]

Anyone can send goods back on a 'whatever visa'. People are getting overly paranoid I think. The Thai government could care less that your sending goods back, as long as it's not drugs or endangered species products ect. The US has

quotas on certain goods which means per year they only allow a certain amount of a product to enter the US. If the qouta for shrimp is 500 tons and other people who have the same idea as you have already sent a total of 500 tons of shrimp,

then they won't let you bring in anymore. If you're going to make a business out of this and employ people, then you you should register the business, get export

permits ect., but if you're just loading up a few crates and sending them off home

for mom to sell down at the shop, don't worry about visas or permits. Just be aware of what's expected at the receiving end in the UK. I am not familiar with

quotas in the UK.

[Noodles]

Customs and Excise may impound whatever it is you

are sending back, and require you to pay a duty on it.

It may depend on the quantity of goods, size and weight of the container or

package. If this happens, the address you are sending it to

will receive a letter from C a E saying that your package

is wating for you, and please bring your cheque book.

If you don't pay you don't get your goods.

If you want to do this properly, maybe it's better to register

a company.

Good luck...

[doubledecker]

with reply to sending goods back from thailand, i am one of those guys living here sending copy goods back and taking my chances.many of my friends send non copy items back to uk with no problems.It all depends on what the product is and the quantity,one of the most popular products are wooden items from Chang Mai.

If your goods are over 2kg then you must make a customs declaration.Thailand has no problem with you buying there products and sending them out of the country,as another member has mentioned the only people interested in your box is customs and trading standards so stay legal and no problems.

good luck

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Forget the 30 day permit or a tourist visa unless the concept of jail and deportation doesn't worry you.

Explain.

Surely you can send goods back on a tourist visa.

Doing it as a business excludes people on tourist visa's. Employment is prohibited.

[ChiangMaiThai]

I went to UPS to send shipmets back to the US every week for a year. NEVER did they ask to see proof of proper visa. NEVER did they call immigration to report a suspicious farang. And when the paranoia on this forum hit all time highs last year and we were told that to export goods legally, one MUST have an export license and that ALL visitors doing monthly visa runs were about to be deported, I asked UPS if I required this license and NO ONE there knew what it was. I contacted the Department of Export Promotion and they said that if I wanted to be a 'real' exporter than I should get a license, but it is not neccessary. (Incidently, I was never deported). At Mae Sai, I always stated that I was here researching export possibilities for my US company, which was absolutley true and I was never once questioned beyond this.

As usual, Dr. Pat Pong is technically correct. However, all too often, the rules as they are written and the rules as they are implemented do not correspond. Knowing this, its up to the individual to make their own decision.

[thaimee]

I agree with dr_pat_pong on the issue of employment without a work permit. Imagine the consequences...

Thaimee.

[simon43]

As usual with LoS, there are 2 (or more ways!) to do everything. There is the 100% legal way, which may require some expense and effort on your part to achieve this status. And there is the not-100% legal way, where 'bending' of the rules is possible.

In many circumstances, both ways work equally well! But only one of these ways (the legal one!), will satisfy the Thai authorities should they choose to investigate your venture. The other way might be a quick route to jail and deportation. So make your choice and don't expect sympathy if you choose the second way and it all goes pear-shaped

[Khun Larry]

Doing it as a business excludes people on tourist visa's. Employment is prohibited.

Doc

Are you sure there is a problem here? I sourced some rubber components for industrial equipment and send them back to the states instead of the Thai company shipping them. What do you think? Not really taking work away from any locals.

[ChiangMaiThai]

This debate raged on and on here last year. The more level headed among us concluded that if you're here on a tourist visa, you'll have no problems buying goods and sending them home as long as you are receiving no payment here and writing no invoices from a Thai address. And you don't need an export license to do this.

I know I am going to piss off a lot of people by stating this, but this information is based on 2 years personal experience and the experiences of many others in the export business, some of whom have been at it for 10 years or more.

The fact is that to do it 100% legally as the law is written, you have to start a company here with 2 million baht capital. Otherwise, you won't get a work permit and you won't get an export license.

As was concluded by many at the end of last year's debate, Thailand is not about to round up and deport every foreigner who is here buying goods and sending them home, who has not registered a company with 2 million baht. Its never happened and there's no reason to believe that it ever will. I can say this with confidence, because it should be obvious that if the Thai government was unhappy with people on tourist visas shipping large amounts of goods home, they would quickly notify every post office, DHL, UPS, FED EX and shipping agent nationwide that before a package over x kilos can be sent, a work permit and export license must be shown.

Now, I suppose that there were some valid points made in that if someone had it out for you they could report you to immigration which may deport you for workign without a visa. But at the end of the day, if someone wants you to be deported that bad, they will find a way.

The fact remains that many, many successful exporters operate without an export license or work permit. many have done so for a decade or more, shipping 40 foot containers monthly without incident.

Those of you who suggest that the small time exporter who wants to dabble in the trade, maybe sending home a few thousand dollars worth of goods a month, is risking certain deportation if he does so without a work permit, need to visit the doctor and talk about possibile remedies. I would suggest xanax or valium. Or maybe just a good root.

[opalhort]

i want to travel to thailand to send goods back to the uk, but i have no experience in this or of thailand.  They will only be genuine goods not fake but i would like to know asmuch as possible about everthing, visas, taxes ,declaration of goods, what u can and cant do, how much you can send back on a normal tourist visa, and what u have to pay to the uk customs aswell.  I will be very grateful if someone could spend the time to explain this to me, thanks..... o yeah if u want to email me its [email protected]

you can come to Thailand on any visa you like, even a 30 day entry stamp and buy as many goods as you like, then find a shipping agent who will send the stuff to the UK.

just make sure none of the goods are illegal or banned from export!

about UK customs duty you better find that out in the UK

opalhort

Forget the 30 day permit or a tourist visa unless the concept of jail and deportation doesn't worry you.

Dr. PP

sorry, but I have to disagree.

Anybody can come to LoS and buy as much as they want and have it shipped out.

Last month we had two Americans here who bought half of Chatuchak (a full 40' container load incl. furnitures), they found an agent and had everything shipped out without problems. They were here only for 6 days on a 30 day entry stamp!

Only if you do Company to Company deals the matter of visa and WP comes into play, but an individual can send anything out of LoS as long as the goods are not illegal.

Just look at all the "tourists" from the subcontinent and Pakistan who buy apparel by the tons daily at Bayoke.

opalhort

[p_brownstone]

Bottom line is it's illegal to work when here on a Tourist Visa etc., but lots of people do it; I have never heard of anyone being arrested for this either but I certainly would not take the risk if I was relying on Exporting from Thailand to make a living here.

The main disadvantage, if you are Exporting regularly and in volume, is that without having a Thai Company properly registerd for Tax and V.A.T. you cannot recoup the 7% V.A.T. which your Thai supplier should add to the cost of whatever you buy in Thailand ... in theory you can claim this back from the Revenue Department when you prove you have exported the goods - so your Margin increases by that amount, which can be considerable.

This being Thailand of course there are a couple of holes in even this theory:

1) It is very difficult to actually get your money back from the Revenue Department - in cash anyway, lots of questions and investigations etc., it's rather easier to offset against any sales you make in Thailand.

2) Lots of small Thai manufacturers / traders .. like those at Chatuchak, regularly cheat on their V.A.T., even if they are registerd, and do not issue proper Tax Invoices; if you ask for one they simply add 7% to the price originally Quoted so you really gain nothing.

[mbkudu]

I have a feeling here that the posters saying it shouldn't be done and 'be careful

without a work permit,' are undoubtably export agents who are based in Bangkok.

People who do it on their own are cutting into their business and they don't like it.

All I can say is tough ti##ies. People will do what they want as long as it's legal,

or virtually legal.

[thaimee]

Yes, but it remains a legality issue. Better to be on the right side of the law than behind bars. Don't you think?

Thaimee.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Yes, but it remains a legality issue. Better to be on the right side of the law than behind bars. Don't you think?

Thaimee.

No one is going to be locked up for sending legal goods back home. Let's start you on 5mg Valium twice a day.