Household Effects And Thai Customs

[Jasmin rice]

I am a Thai citizen, returning home after being out of the country for over six years. It is my understanding that I may bring back my household effects without having to pay customs duty. I am planning to ship these effects in a standard 20-foot shipping container. Since I value these items, they will have been packed and crated very carefully. My concern is how carefully will they be handled and re-packed during the customs inspection process upon arrival in Thailand? Can anyone who has had experience with a similar circumstance please relate it to me? For example, am I to expect that each of the cartons in the container will be opened, and then re-packed with the same original care, before being forwarded on to my hometown?

[Crossy]

I am a Thai citizen, returning home after being out of the country for over six years. It is my understanding that I may bring back my household effects without having to pay customs duty. I am planning to ship these effects in a standard 20-foot shipping container. Since I value these items, they will have been packed and crated very carefully. My concern is how carefully will they be handled and re-packed during the customs inspection process upon arrival in Thailand? Can anyone who has had experience with a similar circumstance please relate it to me? For example, am I to expect that each of the cartons in the container will be opened, and then re-packed with the same original care, before being forwarded on to my hometown?

No chance, customs are notorious for clumsy re-packing and also 'filtering' of the contents.

Since you're packing carefully, make a detailed packing list for each (numbered) carton / crate complete with estimated value and attach a copy to each box, could make customs less likely to open and damage your boxes and it's handy for checking if anything has gone astray.

You should consider using a door-to-door service to alleviate any customs clearance difficulties (several have been named in other threads).

Good luck with your 'duty free' import, my wife ended up paying 30% of the duty as a returning Thai (I made the mistake of taking her to the airport to collect the goods).

[Maizefarmer]

Customs do not have time to open all but a few of the thousands of containers that arrive at Thai ports each day. The clearance officer will look at the Bill of Lading and Contents Inventory - if the profile is consistant with what he's expect from a returning ex-pat, he'll tick the boxes and that will be the end of the matter. i.e. fair chance it won't be opened in the first place.

Of course if it's a bastard of a clearance officer anything could happen - hold thumbs, the odds are actualy in your favour.

MF

Edited May 6, 2007 by Maizefarmer

[The Skipper]

Experience Thai corruption at its finest.

Ship somthing thru customs.

A Thai with some authority is the worst. Especially if you are Farang.

They will hold the items for at least ten days so you pay storage fees.

Then if you really want the delivery, be prepared to pay under the table.

It is so blatent, it's almost unbelievable......THEY have your stuff and if you really want it..then pay sucker.Simple.

The ultimate power trip for someone in authority at Thai Customs.

Happens all day, every day. Been that way for decades.

The entire operation is corrupt. Nothing will be done about it.

Seagate recently canceled plans for a huge factory employing another 40,000 Thais.

Getting the essential parts delivered on time is impossible since Thai Custioms screws them around so much.

Kiss 40,000 jobs good bye while some Corrupt officials are having the time of their lives spending the skimmed funds.

the last two shipments I had were being held hostage, so I decided I didn't want them. Told them to send it back.The under the table price dropped a bit so then I was able to free my goods.

Disgusting.

[Upcountry]

Jasmin rice,

We used RAMA several years ago to send out stuff here from the U.S. They picked our stuff up from our house like a regular mover, took it to NYC, where they crated everything up very well. They handled the customs thing for us and drove up to our upcountry home with a truck and a half full of crates.

Everything was well packed.

I don't know if it applies to everyone, but as my wife was returning from studies in the States, she was allowed one "free" pass though customs in terms of duty. That's why we took everything we wanted in one trip.

the last two shipments I had were being held hostage, so I decided I didn't want them. Told them to send it back.The under the table price dropped a bit so then I was able to free my goods.

Disgusting.

Skipper, were these last two shipments large or small?

I wonder if they open up shipments from Amazon, etc., these days to look for banned books!

[GuestHouse]

I've shipped my household goods in and out of Thailand three times - I've never had a problem with backhanders not one Bht.

Althought I did loose a very nice Pavoni Coffee Machine, which I am convinced one of the Thai packer's pinched (he packed it seperately!!) - The insurance paid for a replacement, but it is gauling.

As suggested above use a reputable door to door shipping agent (I have always used Schenker).

And make sure you fill in a detailed shipping inventory.

[paveet]

Went all ok for me, my 10 odd large paper boxes didn't get open when I returned from the UK after two years in 2000. You just have to fill the correct paperwork.

[chevykanteve]

Experience Thai corruption at its finest.

Ship somthing thru customs.

A Thai with some authority is the worst. Especially if you are Farang.

They will hold the items for at least ten days so you pay storage fees.

Then if you really want the delivery, be prepared to pay under the table.

It is so blatent, it's almost unbelievable......THEY have your stuff and if you really want it..then pay sucker.Simple.

The ultimate power trip for someone in authority at Thai Customs.

Happens all day, every day. Been that way for decades.

The entire operation is corrupt. Nothing will be done about it.

Seagate recently canceled plans for a huge factory employing another 40,000 Thais.

Getting the essential parts delivered on time is impossible since Thai Custioms screws them around so much.

Kiss 40,000 jobs good bye while some Corrupt officials are having the time of their lives spending the skimmed funds.

the last two shipments I had were being held hostage, so I decided I didn't want them. Told them to send it back.The under the table price dropped a bit so then I was able to free my goods.

Disgusting.

Many years ago as Managing Director of a science-related company in BKK, I ordered chemicals from the USA. When the chemicals arrived, Thai Customs told my company we had to pay 20,000 baht in tax (the chemicals themselves cost much less than that) as import duty. When I told them to just go ahead and ship the chemicals back to the States, their response was "If you do that, you must pay us 20,000 baht in export duty." B------s

[dominique355]

Last year we moved our entire household from Switzerland to Thailand and used a door-to-door shipping company and a container. It took about 4 weeks to arrive in Klong Toey and 2 days later a truck came to our house to unload everything.

Before the container had arrived, we had to prepare a detailed list of all items in the boxes. It was entertaining to observe the local shipping agent here in Bangkok and what he put in the documents. Let's say, he was very creative.

We figured that Thai Custom wanted to tax something so we gave them a bait, a brand new electric scooter. They jumped on it, wanted to see it and asked for a tax on it. No problem there and the rest of the boxes was not even inspected.

We had absolutely nothing broken, not a glass, not a dish, everything was in perfect condition.

[stiggy]

Thai Customs department are possibly the most corrupt officials I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

Everytime I import anything they ask us to jump thru hoops of varying difficulty,I accepted this as our business depends on Import.

The last year we moved our warehouse etc to Hong Kong due to these guys over 20 Thais now out of work....

The worst case i encountered was post Tzunami we had aranged 30 boxes of Aid to arrive for use in effected areas clearly marked Tzunami aid,collected and even air freighted at zero cost (thanks to Quantas).The Import documents where also translated in Thai to avoid confusion. We where also registered as Importers with customs card and managers card.

On arrival we expected them to inspect to check for contraband and quite rightly so.

However they STOLE GSM Phones and power tools being sent to help with the rebuild over 15 units in all...b***ds,The goods where there on leaving Australia There on Arrival in Thailand GONE after Thai customs got their stinking greedy little hands on them.

They then asked for over 60 thousand bht in Handling fees.......... That turned out to be made up charges.

As for your household goods go there personally pay teamoney and you should be ok,forget bringing in Motorbikes,Check the officials car park great collection of imported vehicles.

[Naam]

I am a Thai citizen, returning home after being out of the country for over six years. It is my understanding that I may bring back my household effects without having to pay customs duty. I am planning to ship these effects in a standard 20-foot shipping container. Since I value these items, they will have been packed and crated very carefully. My concern is how carefully will they be handled and re-packed during the customs inspection process upon arrival in Thailand? Can anyone who has had experience with a similar circumstance please relate it to me? For example, am I to expect that each of the cartons in the container will be opened, and then re-packed with the same original care, before being forwarded on to my hometown?

use a "respected" clearing agent and your container will not even be opened.

[lingling]

I am a Thai citizen, returning home after being out of the country for over six years. It is my understanding that I may bring back my household effects without having to pay customs duty. I am planning to ship these effects in a standard 20-foot shipping container. Since I value these items, they will have been packed and crated very carefully. My concern is how carefully will they be handled and re-packed during the customs inspection process upon arrival in Thailand? Can anyone who has had experience with a similar circumstance please relate it to me? For example, am I to expect that each of the cartons in the container will be opened, and then re-packed with the same original care, before being forwarded on to my hometown?

We did exactly that a couple of years ago - sent a 20ft container with various household items; furniture, clothes, kitchenware, toys, a small boat, bikes etc. Paid $2k for shipping. Once it arrived, the local agent in Thailand REFUSED to release the B/L even though the US shipping agent had instructed them to release the B/L to use upon arrival. The US shipping company had to contact the local agent on several occasions and had to send them some not-so-nice emails which I got carbon copies of. In the end, they did release it but it caused a two week delay for which WE had to pay container storage fees.

Clearing it through Thai customs was no problem at all. At first, we contacted several local shipping companies and requested quotes for customs clearance etc. All of them came up with fantasy amounts and all of them quoted a "customs bribe" that they told use we would have to pay cash and that they would not give us a receipt for. This pissed me off, so we ended up doing it ourselves. It turned out that customs did NOT expect or ask for any bribes. In fact, the customs agents at Lat Krabang went out of their way being helpful and helping us with paperwork etc. We did offer them money as a thanks for the service but they declined and told us that they did not expect anything besides the official fee (a couple of hundred baht), and import duty on the bikes (B2000) as the bikes were not covered by the duty free "household items" allowance.

Once cleared, we unloaded the container contents onto two flatbed trucks right at Lat Krabang and sent it to our home in BKK, each truck accompanied by a family member to ensure that nothing got unloaded on the way.

Summary of our experiences: Thai customs were helpful and not as corrupt as shipping agents try to give you the impression of. Instead, these shipping agents all asked for a cash payment with no receipt. I am sure the shipping agents pocket this, and that very few of those money are ever used to bribe customs. In my opinion, the corrupt ones are the local shipping agents, NOT the customs officials.

[The Skipper]

"In the end, they did release it but it caused a two week delay for which WE had to pay container storage fees."

It seems they attempt to put everything on hold for a week or two.

Imagine the thousands and thousands of parcels landing every day, paying storage fees, all being held up by the cargo mafia.

100,000 boxes at 150bt per day penalty would be a guess.

15 million bt a day going where?

I went to pick up a crate and the "agent" wrote 8,000bt on a scrap of paper. Then wanted more"under the table money".

This went on for two weeks. 15 emails and a dozen or more calls with various people. A real circle jerk.

Finally an hour before delivery, got a call, another 5,000 under the table was needed.

What are you going to do? Abandon the stuff or file a complaint with who?

How many businesses have they chased out of Thailand with this continuing ripoff ?

[paulsmithson]

wife(thai)and I came here 7 weeks ago and shipped our household effects in a 20 ft container/ we used wordwide shipping in Bangkok as our clearance agents and truthfully filled in the customa declaration here. Many items were taxable and our bill was 4k baht in total. I am told that customs worked from our itemised inverntory and that their inspection consisted of opening the doors of the container only for a brief glance. We were very happy with the service we received.

[Killroy]

Yes you can import your belongings,but there are some restrictiont for electrical appliances.

Check on Sunbelt's home page there you can find out how to do and what you can bring back home.

[samran]

I am a Thai citizen, returning home after being out of the country for over six years. It is my understanding that I may bring back my household effects without having to pay customs duty. I am planning to ship these effects in a standard 20-foot shipping container. Since I value these items, they will have been packed and crated very carefully. My concern is how carefully will they be handled and re-packed during the customs inspection process upon arrival in Thailand? Can anyone who has had experience with a similar circumstance please relate it to me? For example, am I to expect that each of the cartons in the container will be opened, and then re-packed with the same original care, before being forwarded on to my hometown?

use a "respected" clearing agent and your container will not even be opened.

exactly.

We used Transpro-Asian Tigers and everything was handled professionally. No doubt they have an 'existing' relationship with customs which meant our shipment was expeditied, but it means that we didn't have to worry about (VERY real) problems others have mentioned. I think we had about 15 cubic meters of personal belongings shipped from the UK.

My Thai passport was taken away for a couple of days (I had highlighted the relevant entry and exit dates to prove that I had lived outside of Thailand for one year) and I received it back, a few days later with a stamp in Thai saying "Duty Free allowance utilised".

[Jasmin rice]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your responses to my question. You have given me a wealth of perspectives.

One point that I still have a lot of uneasiness about is whether, (all things considered -- convenience, aggravations, paperwork, bribes, thefts, etc.), should I be present and attempt to clear customs myself, or should I pay my shipping company to take care of this?

What are your opinions?

[samtam]

Definitely get your shipping agent to clear and have it shipped door to door. The Shipping agent will agree a "duty" figure. THB20,000 was suggested to me, and I paid it. I have no idea how it was made up; I don't think it is relevant. It's all part of the deal, where, as has been mentioned bribery/tea money, call it what you will, is the name of the game.

[lingling]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your responses to my question. You have given me a wealth of perspectives.

One point that I still have a lot of uneasiness about is whether, (all things considered -- convenience, aggravations, paperwork, bribes, thefts, etc.), should I be present and attempt to clear customs myself, or should I pay my shipping company to take care of this?

What are your opinions?

Based on our experience, I would say do it yourself. Dealing with customs is cheaper, easier and friendlier than dealing with the crooks at the shipping companies. At the very least, if you decide to use a shipping company avoid the local offices of the large international ones such as Schenker, Vanguard etc.

[Steve2UK]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your responses to my question. You have given me a wealth of perspectives.

One point that I still have a lot of uneasiness about is whether, (all things considered -- convenience, aggravations, paperwork, bribes, thefts, etc.), should I be present and attempt to clear customs myself, or should I pay my shipping company to take care of this?

What are your opinions?

I really think that this comes down to how much of a risk-taker you are. I shipped a 20-foot container of household stuff in September last year from London to Chiang Mai and followed the positive recommendation of a fellow Brit who had used the same UK shipper and local Thai agent a few months before. I was also influenced by some first-hand horror stories from ThaiVisa posters who had tried the DIY clearance route and had been held to ransom by Thai customs. Of two members' cases I remember reading, one involved evidently invented problems with the paperwork for releasing a much-loved family pet and the other involved the customs guys spreading out the importer's very high-end stereo system on the ground and suggesting they might need to break open the marble speaker boxes to check for drugs. Needless to say, both issues disappeared after money changed hands.

As is so often said on here - your mileage may vary. I'm fairly sure that my Thai agent exaggerated the amount of under-the table money that was required and took a slice for himself. Against which, the process was painless (assuming you accept the suspected overcharging) and - broadly - performed as promised. My take (from looking at this subject for quite a while) is that the overwhelming majority of posters on this subject choose to go through an agent. On balance, I'd do the same thing again.

[The Skipper]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your responses to my question. You have given me a wealth of perspectives.

One point that I still have a lot of uneasiness about is whether, (all things considered -- convenience, aggravations, paperwork, bribes, thefts, etc.), should I be present and attempt to clear customs myself, or should I pay my shipping company to take care of this?

What are your opinions?

You can personally go out there and attempt to pick up your goods but most likely, when you arrive, the security intercepts you and then will direct you straight into the hands of some mafia cargo types..(Unauthorized agents).

The legit employees are too terrified to step in and help you.

Be prepared to have them waste your time and then pay under the table to release the stuff.

Could possibly jerk you around for a week or two so the storage fees add up.

Hundreds of these (agents) have (portable offices) set up on the dock, parking lot etc., doing the dirty work for some higher ups in the Cargo industry.

Do it yourself or hire an Agent...does not matter...some bigshot scumbag has to line his pockets before you can get your parcel.

That's the way it works in Thailand.

[Phil_ne_uk]

Can anyone who has already had personal effects shipped to los tell me what the Customs Formality Accessing & Inspection fee is for?

I’ve been quoted THB 4,500.00 for a Shipment of 2-3 m3

Is this figure realistic or is the agent in BKK trying to pull a fast one?

I’ve also been quoted about 6000-7000 baht for duty & tax on a shipment valued at about 600 GBP. Is this fair or not?? Any ideas??

Thanks

Phil

[Phil_ne_uk]

Any answers guys? Surely someone knows the answer??

[lingling]

Any answers guys? Surely someone knows the answer??

The answer is in one of my previous posts to this thread (#12). Don't use agents if you can avoid it - the crooks are NOT the customs officers but the agents. We paid less than that for a 20 foot container, but we did all customs clearance etc ourselves.

Customs at Lat Krabang are a helpful bunch, and all this talk about having to pay tea money etc is just cargo agents trying to make a fast buck. If you can, make sure the shipping company at the origin send you the B/L with a courier instead of having a local agent "express release" it to you. A local agent for one of the big shipping companies (Vanguard) held our B/L hostage for two weeks despite repeated requests from she shipper and Vanguard's US office to immediately surrender it to us.

Edited May 21, 2007 by lingling

[Phil_ne_uk]

Thanks for your reply Lingling, so is this “Customs Formality Accessing & Inspection fee” of 4500 baht just a con?

I asked the shipping co. in the UK about the documents and they said,

We will issue a Bill of Ladin covering your shipment. We can issue Original Bills of Lading and send these to your goodselves, you would then have to produce the Original Bill of Lading to our agent in Thailand to obtain release of the cargo. Alternatively we can issue an Express Bill of Lading which means we could e mail you a copy of this Bill of Lading which you can produce to our agents to obtain release of the cargo. We will also forward all copies of these documents to our agents who will keep in touch with you regarding the arrival of the cargo in Bangkok.

I asked if they wouldn’t send the docs to their agent here in los but they said

Your shipment will have to be consigned to Pilot as they arrange the de-vanning of the groupage container - the only document i need to send them is a copy of the Bill of Lading with your contact details so that they can let you know when the cargo due to arrive in Bangkok.

I would not need to send them any other documents if you are arranging your own customs clearance and delivery.

I’ve been getting costs from the agent but if I don’t use their services might they hold my docs hostage as you said happened to you? Or if they issue an Express Bill of Lading as they suggested would I be ok?

I’ll search for your previous post in the meantime.

Thanks, confused

[lingling]

I’ve been getting costs from the agent but if I don’t use their services might they hold my docs hostage as you said happened to you? Or if they issue an Express Bill of Lading as they suggested would I be ok?

Exactly, in our case Vanguard Thailand held the B/L hostage. Shipment consigned to you (not someone else as your shipper suggests), and B/L sent by courier directly to you will save you a bunch of hassle. If they can't do this, check if another shipper can do that. In our case we sent a whole container, not sure if sending less than a container will change the procedure.

Edited May 21, 2007 by lingling

[Phil_ne_uk]

Maybe it’s different as you suspect for a lcl as they did say,

Your shipment will have to be consigned to Pilot as they arrange the de-vanning of the groupage container

I assume that means they control sorting out the various loads for different customers.

Any idea what they mean by this,

Alternatively we can issue an Express Bill of Lading which means we could e mail you a copy of this Bill of Lading which you can produce to our agents to obtain release of the cargo

Do I have to produce the b/l to their agent to have my cargo released? Can't I just show it to the customs for them to release it??

cheers,

Phil