I want to order online an exhaust for my motorbike.I found a company in usa which ships it to thailand.They calculate a total price which includes shippment cost and import tax to thailand so no hassle for me.At first sight the company looks quite reputable,they are on the site of a big motorcycle magazine,have a secured site and 24/7 live customer support.Even the import tax is quiet favorable since they charge 30 % and I thought it would be 40 %.However I have some doubts about it as untill 1 month ago it wasn't even possible to add the airport tax to the ticket you bought from the airline.So will the thais allow a foreign company to collect the import tax on their behalf?What do you think is it safe to order this way or should I look for an online company who charges only the shippment and pay the taxes myself when it arrives in thailand.

I would be dubious as the amount of import tax applied by customs is usually an arbitary amount!

Let us check the basic rule. Anything shipped or mailed to or brought into Thailand is subject to import duty and tax (VAT).

The duty is based on a nice little book (about 3 kgs) that specify each and every item one can think of. At the moment I cannot check, but 30% DUTY in the exhaust sounds ok to me.

Now, when the exhaust arrives the customs office will decide the value, consisting of the price of the exchaust plus freight costs plus transport insurance-premium plus some 'landing' costs. Based on this the import duty will be calculated at 30% or whateever the tariff says. On top of this will be added VAT of 7%. That's all. The problem? If the customs officer does not believe the original price they will estimate their own price compared to similar items.

No, the payment cannot be done by a foreign company, but they might have a local agent, importer, trading company, forwarder, broker or whatever, who pays for all this and bills the company in the US.

So if the US-company sells the exhaust including shipping costs and import duty I would just accept it but would check if their are extra costs for VAT (7%) or not. Still, if you trust the company and they tell you free Thailand, take it.

If you want to 'import' yourself expect to pay a lot. You pay for duty, based on what the customs officer thinks is the value plus VAT and not forget, handling for whoever does the customs clearance for you.

So whatever, if the US-supplier says the price is so and so to you in Thailand, accept it and leave the worries about duty and tax with them.

Let us check the basic rule. Anything shipped or mailed to or brought into Thailand is subject to import duty and tax (VAT).

The duty is based on a nice little book (about 3 kgs) that specify each and every item one can think of. At the moment I cannot check, but 30% DUTY in the exhaust sounds ok to me.

Now, when the exhaust arrives the customs office will decide the value, consisting of the price of the exchaust plus freight costs plus transport insurance-premium plus some 'landing' costs. Based on this the import duty will be calculated at 30% or whateever the tariff says. On top of this will be added VAT of 7%. That's all. The problem? If the customs officer does not believe the original price they will estimate their own price compared to similar items.

No, the payment cannot be done by a foreign company, but they might have a local agent, importer, trading company, forwarder, broker or whatever, who pays for all this and bills the company in the US.

So if the US-company sells the exhaust including shipping costs and import duty I would just accept it but would check if their are extra costs for VAT (7%) or not. Still, if you trust the company and they tell you free Thailand, take it.

If you want to 'import' yourself expect to pay a lot. You pay for duty, based on what the customs officer thinks is the value plus VAT and not forget, handling for whoever does the customs clearance for you.

So whatever, if the US-supplier says the price is so and so to you in Thailand, accept it and leave the worries about duty and tax with them.

The item is send by ups or fedex and ao course comes with an invoice.Don't shipping company clear the duty's on your behalf?

Yes, but they won't release the item until you pay them