700 Baht Departure Tax

[peter991]

Please correct me if I am wrong - but I was under the impression that all overseas airline tickets purchased AFTER 01 February 2007 included the 700 baht Departure Tax when leaving Thailand. (Note: Previously it was 500 baht, payable separately on leaving Thailand).

I was told yesterday (Sunday morning, 22 April 2007) at 5.30am that the Departure Tax was NOT paid on my ticket. The ticket was booked and paid in full at Flight Centre (NSW, Australia) on 08 February 2007.

After the drama I had on my entry to Thailand this visit, I wasn't about to do anything rash ... so I just smiled (through gritted teeth) and paid the 700 baht.

Is this a scam or what? Because it was Sunday morning, I was unable to contact Flight Centre to get their version. Do I have any grounds for complaint if it can be proved the 700 baht Departure Tax was paid as part of my ticket price? Has this happened to anybody else?

Your thoughts please.

Peter

[jumnien]

Some countries like the US charge $100/visa and approx. $40/ticket in taxes and fees to enter the country. Thailand is free to enter and charges 700 baht to leave. Not bad when you think about it...

[Ijustwannateach]

^I don't think OP is complaining about the charge; I think he is speculating that he has been double-charged because of a mistake in the paperwork.

[jumnien]

His inability to contact Flight Center does reek of some offshore scam downunder! Looking forward to the follow-up!

[sbk]

Your ticket should show if the tax has been paid or not, check to see if its there, or the receipt if you have it. My receipt shows the tax has been paid and is listed as a separate charge.

[Templer]

I flew back to the uk in march expecting to pay the exit Tax

did not realise it was already sorted ,

far better system

[ThaiPauly]

I have just looked at my e-ticket for the trip I just made to the UK

No mention of departure tax and nowhere to pay it at the airport.

I was never asked for the slip that I would normaly have had to show at Don Muang !

It would appear that I did not pay it,,,the same thing happened to my Son when he flew to Dubai.

[britmaveric]

Got hit up at check-in. Airline rep informed me that I needed pay departure tax. She picked up a phone, rang someone. I paid them and they gave me the usual stamp/receipt to give to passport control.

[peter991]

It was Sunday morning - Flight Centre was not open in Australia - and I wasn't about to phone Australia from BKK to query it. Because I have an eTicket, there's no record of whether the Departure Tax was paid or not.

Update: I am back in Australia and just phoned Flight Centre. They said the ticket was issued on 07 February and there was no request for extra payment. They are following it up. Don't know if it could properly be called a SCAM as a receipt was issued to me after I paid.

Peter

[LivinLOS]

I was specifically told by Tiger it was included then got hit up at the airport..

Pissed me off that I had already asked..

This was early march.. They had a date (25th April) when it would be included..

[andy1308]

I flew back to the UK a couple of weeks ago with Emirates on a ticket brought via a UK travel website. There is something in the system that tells the check-in staff whether tax has been paid or not. Mine had but there was someone in the queue next to me who was adamant his ticket included it but was being told it was not. The e-ticket I was issued with did not specifically state whether tax had been paid or not.

[onzestan]

I'm looking at my E-ticket for flight next June now.

Under the flight details :

Form of payment : CA

FARE : THB 70000 T/F/C 700TS T/F/C 320DE T/F/C 5640XT

Total :THB 76660

Clearly the 700 BHT is included

Check your ticket BEFORE you fly.

cheers

onzestan

[Aussietraveller]

I flew Tiger to Singapore yesterday, i did not see any mention of the departure tax on the e ticket.

Was not asked for it at the airport, and had no problem, so i assume i was paid at some point.

I booked the ticket about 1 week ago.

Flight centre is a reputable travel agent, so i am sure if the OP was originally charged for it, it will get sorted out.

Cheers

[lomatopo]

As of 1 Feb 2007 the airlines are responsible for paying AoT 700 THB per international departing passenger. They can see the fare breakout, including all of the tax, security, fuel surcharge (YQ) and departure fees (TS). You can always ask for a hard-copy of the fare breakout at check-in, if it is not represented on your e-ticket receipt (It should be evident on a paper ticket.). Depending on where the ticket was issued this charge, which has a "TS" designator, and it will represent 700 THB at the then current exchange rate. On one of my e-tickets it shows up as $19.03 USD.

Anyway the airline knows if you already paid this departure tax, and the system flags them to collect it in the event that you did not pay it when your ticket was issued. Tickets can be issued ~ 330 days in advance so there are still people, including me on an upcoming itinerary, who have yet to pay the departure tax.

The OP could request a fare breakout from the ticket issuer to confirm whether the 700 baht was paid, but I sort of doubt that it was based on the OP's descriptions and dates. It probably took weeks for this change to be written into all the various GDS systems used around the world.

Here is a fare breakout for a ticket I had issued a few days ago in the U.S.A.:

Fare details: BOS UA X/CHI UA X/TYO UA BKK M/BT UA X/TYO UA X/CHI UA BOS M/BT PLUS M/BT NUC M/BT END ROE1.00UA XT30.20US5.00XA 7.50AY21.47TS200.00YQ13.50XFBOS4.5ORD4.5ORD4.5

[bmanly]

I sympathise with you Peter991, how is one to know? I booked my ticket with BA and it does say Tax/Fee/Charge $323.14 AUD. Now the big question is, is the Thai 700 departure tax included in this or not and if it isn't why? I thought this was suppose to be standardised.

Edit: Could you let us know what the outcome was, thanks.

[Krub]

It was Sunday morning - Flight Centre was not open in Australia - and I wasn't about to phone Australia from BKK to query it. Because I have an eTicket, there's no record of whether the Departure Tax was paid or not.

Update: I am back in Australia and just phoned Flight Centre. They said the ticket was issued on 07 February and there was no request for extra payment. They are following it up. Don't know if it could properly be called a SCAM as a receipt was issued to me after I paid.

Peter

It will be indicated on your e-ticket fare details if the tax has been included in the total fare or not.

It should after Feb 1 2007

[Kerryd]

I'm sitting in one of the Business Class lounges right now, and just reread my e-ticket. I thought I had screwed up and forgot to buy a Departure Tax ticket before hitting the Immigration line-up, and realised it when I was 3/4's of the way through the line. Didn't relish having to go back and start again.

I thought it odd that I made it all the way through everything without anyone asking for that Ticket stub. Then I decided to fire up the laptop and check out ThaiVisa of course !

Having browsed this thread and looking at my e-ticket again and sure enough, there is a 80 AED (Arab Emirates Dirhams) "Domestic Passenger Service Charge" (code TS), in addition to the other 530 AED in taxes and surcharges.

Much more convenient than having to buy the Departure Tax stub only to get it punched 5 seconds later and never asked for again.

And this must have changed very recently, as when I flew out last time (30 January), I did have to buy a Departure Tax ticket.

Guess it pays to read up on TV before travelling in/out of here !

[WISteve]

Yes, an informative thread gentlemen. Thanks!

My ticket purchased the end of Feruary with UAL for 1st week of May:

Taxes and fees:

180.00YQ 20.59TS 7.50AY 7.00XY 5.00XA 5.00YC 13.50XFMSP 4.50RD

I got a better exchange rate the end of February but it's already paid and on my E-ticket receipt.

~WISteve

[blacklabel]

Please correct me if I am wrong - but I was under the impression that all overseas airline tickets purchased AFTER 01 February 2007 included the 700 baht Departure Tax when leaving Thailand. (Note: Previously it was 500 baht, payable separately on leaving Thailand).

I was told yesterday (Sunday morning, 22 April 2007) at 5.30am that the Departure Tax was NOT paid on my ticket. The ticket was booked and paid in full at Flight Centre (NSW, Australia) on 08 February 2007.

After the drama I had on my entry to Thailand this visit, I wasn't about to do anything rash ... so I just smiled (through gritted teeth) and paid the 700 baht.

Is this a scam or what? Because it was Sunday morning, I was unable to contact Flight Centre to get their version. Do I have any grounds for complaint if it can be proved the 700 baht Departure Tax was paid as part of my ticket price? Has this happened to anybody else?

Your thoughts please.

Peter

When i buy my e-ticket from jetstar it clearly stats tat i dun have to pay the 700baht tax at suvarnabhumi and when i fly back to SG dun have any problems..cheerschongaew

[Soju]

The departure tax should always be included in any ticket you purchase these days. If they fail to charge you the departure tax, then it should be the airline and/or the travel agent's problem, not your's. If you purchase a ticket and then when you go to check in, the airline tells you, "oh, we forgot to include the fuel surcharge", would you expect to have to pay it? Of course not! The same for the departure tax. If anyone tries to tell you that you have to pay a departure tax for a ticket purchased after Feb. 1, demand your rights and refuse to pay it. If they still insist, talk to a supervisor and get the name of the supervisor and let them know in no uncertain terms that you are not obligated to pay but are only paying because you are being forced to and that you will take action against the airline for illegally charging you more than what you bargained for when you purchased the ticket. Be sure that the supervisor knows that their name is being recorded and that they will be held personally accountable for trying to force an illegal action upon you. It is 100% the airline's responsibility and if they sold you a ticket directly or through a travel agent without the tax then it is 100% their responsibility to pay the tax for you.

Now this is only applicable if you purchased the ticket with BKK being a stop-over or the final/starting point. If you are only transiting in BKK on a single ticket, then the departure tax should not have been charged to your ticket and if you later change and do a stop-over in BKK, then you may very well be liable for paying the departure tax and shouldn't complain in that case.

[Krub]

The departure tax should always be included in any ticket you purchase these days. If they fail to charge you the departure tax, then it should be the airline and/or the travel agent's problem, not your's. If you purchase a ticket and then when you go to check in, the airline tells you, "oh, we forgot to include the fuel surcharge", would you expect to have to pay it? Of course not! The same for the departure tax. If anyone tries to tell you that you have to pay a departure tax for a ticket purchased after Feb. 1, demand your rights and refuse to pay it. If they still insist, talk to a supervisor and get the name of the supervisor and let them know in no uncertain terms that you are not obligated to pay but are only paying because you are being forced to and that you will take action against the airline for illegally charging you more than what you bargained for when you purchased the ticket. Be sure that the supervisor knows that their name is being recorded and that they will be held personally accountable for trying to force an illegal action upon you. It is 100% the airline's responsibility and if they sold you a ticket directly or through a travel agent without the tax then it is 100% their responsibility to pay the tax for you.

Now this is only applicable if you purchased the ticket with BKK being a stop-over or the final/starting point. If you are only transiting in BKK on a single ticket, then the departure tax should not have been charged to your ticket and if you later change and do a stop-over in BKK, then you may very well be liable for paying the departure tax and shouldn't complain in that case.

If a travel agent forgets to include the airport tax on a ticket, the airline has the right to have the passenger pay that tax before being allowed to board. If they do not, they have to claim it from the travel agent who then has to claim it form the passenger.