Customs Department targets improvement in ‘ease of doing business’ ranking

By THE NATION

 

 

Thailand aims to improve its ranking in “Ease of Doing Business” in 2021, Krisda Jinawijarana, director-general of Customs Department, said on Friday (February 7). He said the department was making improvements in five areas.

 

 

“The Customs Department is committed to improving Thailand’s infrastructure and procedures in doing business to facilitate foreign entrepreneurs who are interested in investing in Thailand,” he said. “The World Bank compiles ratings for ease of doing business in each country every year and we aim to improve our rating in 2021 with these five Customs-related measures.”

 

He said the Customs department would improve PAP [pre-arrival processing]. The department has allowed sea freight and air freight operators to submit cargo lists in advance before arrival so that they can pay Customs tax in advance and start loading the cargo immediately when they arrive. This measure has already been employed since May 2018 and will be further streamlined to reduce processing time.

 

The department aims to improve the electronic bill payment system. E-payment channels are being used since January 2019, allowing entrepreneurs to pay customs fees and taxes via internet banking, mobile banking, ATM, banks’ counters and representatives without the need to come down to the Customs office. So far, six banks offer the facilities. They are: Krung Thai Bank, Government Savings Bank, Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank and Bank of Ayudhya, as well as two representatives including Big C Supercenter and Counter Service. In the future the department aims to find more banking partners to increase service coverage and promote the e-payment channel to more entrepreneurs. At present 60 per cent of transactions are through e-payment.

 

The requirement of Customs declaration documents for products that are already listed in the e-Customs database will be scrapped, he said. This measure will help speed up the Customs process for repeated importers as well as reduce the expense on paper and printing equipment valued at approximately Bt30 million annually.

 

The Customs official said efficiency of risk management will be increased based on importers’ profile. This measure will help reduce the need for random inspection of products as well as reduce entrepreneurs’ related expenses like container transport fee and storage space rental for products awaiting inspection. The inspection rate of 2019 stands at 26 per cent, significantly decreasing from 37 per cent in 2018.

 

The department will install drive-through x-ray scanners for container inspection. Two drive-through scanners will be installed in March in addition to two fixed scanners at Laem Chabang Port. The drive-through scanner can inspect 150 containers per hour versus 30 containers per hour done by fixed scanners. This move is expected to significantly reduce waiting time for each container to be scanned and also reduce traffic congestion at the port.

 

For further information, check out the Customs Department website at www.customs.go.th under “Doing Business: Trading Across Border”.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30381832

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-09

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Hey. I’ve got an idea. How about lowering the tariffs? 

Pffft. Until BOI rules are applied to all companies, forget it. Ownership of under 100% and requirement to hire four Thais to get WP make it a non-starter.

41 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

Hey. I’ve got an idea. How about lowering the tariffs? 

Yes, Thailand has crazy duties that hurt the economy.   I paid almost 20 percent duty on LEDs one time.  Customs has been ruining the country's competitiveness even before general cha cha rolled in with his band of nitwits in green.  In Vietnam, there is a lot more excitement and hope compared to Thailand.    

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

“The Customs Department is committed to improving Thailand’s infrastructure and procedures in doing business to facilitate foreign entrepreneurs who are interested in investing in Thailand,” he said.

with so many red tapes (thick envelopes), employment restrictions, poor infrastructures, non sense outdated procedures and so forth, who the heck is crazy enough to start a business here...

56 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Pffft. Until BOI rules are applied to all companies, forget it. Ownership of under 100% and requirement to hire four Thais to get WP make it a non-starter.

 

Yes, but now, you can pay your excessive/usurious customs duties FASTER via online banking!!!  I know for me, that makes ALL the difference in the world for Thailand!!!  

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

with so many red tapes (thick envelopes), employment restrictions, poor infrastructures, non sense outdated procedures and so forth, who the heck is crazy enough to start a business here...

Agreed, I looked to move my business from Shenzhen to here, back handers, red tape, restrictions.  It was cheaper and more effective to go back to Europe. Plus now we get everything right first time on quantity. Costs today are even playing field.

did they not say they would tax every small package coming into thailand

 

and easy of doing bussiness ?  in my home country, If tax need to be paid, I pay the postman

 

in thailand, have to go next to chaeng wattana building - aka customs to go pay 500 baht on a 2500 baht package ...  that is a one hour drive one way, waiting time, driving back

 

half a day to get a package...

 

yes, improving

 

loooooooooooooooool

6 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Yes, Thailand has crazy duties that hurt the economy.   I paid almost 20 percent duty on LEDs one time.  Customs has been ruining the country's competitiveness even before general cha cha rolled in with his band of nitwits in green.  In Vietnam, there is a lot more excitement and hope compared to Thailand.    

Only 20% I was charged 100% by the post office on a jacket and t shirt I ordered on line, they even charged on the postage (the wife paid it as she new I really wanted the stuff but I would have told them to F right OFF!!!) 

They are well known thieving SOB's. When we moved to Thailand in 2011 we sent some of our stuff from Scotland to Thailand (10 boxes and a couple of big items) we got the boxes, tape from the company, they picked it up from our house. It went from UK to Singapore changed ships and onto BKk and that's when the problems started. Customs refused to release our stuff unless we used their agent. It cost us more money for our stuff to travel less than 20km than it cost for our stuff to get to BKk. Then there is what they tried to do to Toyota and the Prius resulting in Toyota giving them the finger and closing production.... One could go on and on.