Cigarettes And Wine Into Thailand?

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Ive got some friends coming to Thailand soon and they have

Asked me ….

Are we allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol per person into the country? ( Wine )

And ……

Cigarettes, Do you know how many per person we're allowed to take into the country??

Ive got no idea…. So can any one tell me please…?

Thanks …. Mumbo

[tayto]

Ive got some friends coming to Thailand soon and they have

Asked me ….

Are we allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol per person into the country? ( Wine )

And ……

Cigarettes, Do you know how many per person we're allowed to take into the country??

Ive got no idea…. So can any one tell me please…?

Thanks …. Mumbo

CUSTOMS & DUTY FREE ALLOWANCES AND RESTRICTIONS

Tobacco....................200 cigarettes

Liquor.......................1 litre

Cameras....................No restrictions

Film...........................Reasonable amount for personal use

Perfume.....................Reasonable amount for personal use

Gifts...........................No duty free allowance

Currency....................Must be declared on arrival

Agriculture items.......Refer to consulate

Tell them to stick strickly to this as the customs people are like vultures, waiting to nab anybody over the limit.

Edited May 8, 2007 by tayto

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Hi tayto, thanks very much for the information I will now pass it back on to

my friends,

Thanks Mumbo

[old wanderer]

Ive got some friends coming to Thailand soon and they have

Asked me ….

Are we allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol per person into the country? ( Wine )

And ……

Cigarettes, Do you know how many per person we're allowed to take into the country??

Ive got no idea…. So can any one tell me please…?

Thanks …. Mumbo

I believe your currency regulation is several years old. There are no currency restrictions on bringing into Thailand, only taking baht out of Thailand presently.

CUSTOMS & DUTY FREE ALLOWANCES AND RESTRICTIONS

Tobacco....................200 cigarettes

Liquor.......................1 litre

Cameras....................No restrictions

Film...........................Reasonable amount for personal use

Perfume.....................Reasonable amount for personal use

Gifts...........................No duty free allowance

Currency....................Must be declared on arrival

Agriculture items.......Refer to consulate

Tell them to stick strickly to this as the customs people are like vultures, waiting to nab anybody over the limit.

[ianh68h]

Ive got some friends coming to Thailand soon and they have

Asked me ….

Are we allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol per person into the country? ( Wine )

And ……

Cigarettes, Do you know how many per person we're allowed to take into the country??

Ive got no idea…. So can any one tell me please…?

Thanks …. Mumbo

I believe your currency regulation is several years old. There are no currency restrictions on bringing into Thailand, only taking baht out of Thailand presently.

CUSTOMS & DUTY FREE ALLOWANCES AND RESTRICTIONS

Tobacco....................200 cigarettes

Liquor.......................1 litre

Cameras....................No restrictions

Film...........................Reasonable amount for personal use

Perfume.....................Reasonable amount for personal use

Gifts...........................No duty free allowance

Currency....................Must be declared on arrival

Agriculture items.......Refer to consulate

Tell them to stick strickly to this as the customs people are like vultures, waiting to nab anybody over the limit.

I would not disagree wiith this advice, but my question is whether such restrictions are enforced on the Thai borders with Laos and Burma.

[Kf6vci]

Once 2 Police officers approached me at Arrivals, at the elevator. Demanding that I open my luggage as they were looking for "cigarettes". Rather strange but a one-off experience after flying in dozens of times. ** Be careful with liquids, I had a PC wrecked by the baggage handlers. And mind that you can buy Marlboros at a lot less than European duty free prices

[NotNew2You]

basically, the custom is 1 carton and 1 bottle of alcohol PER PERSON. So if a group, the amount can be spread among them.

[jackspratt]

Where is emperor_tud when he is needed

[kittygal]

Has anyone had the experience in bringing in more than one litre of alcohol from Tachilek into Thailand on foot? I know they're strict at the airport for sure, but am wondering if I can get away with buying two (or three! ) bottles of decent red wine on the Myanmar side and walking it back to Thailand.

[bkkmick]

A friend arrived from Heathrow with 1000 Silk Cut and got nabbed at BKK. He got a lovely welcome to Thailand 21,000 baht fine and they confiscated his ciggys too. He's been here before and should have known better.

[Stanos]

Has anyone had the experience in bringing in more than one litre of alcohol from Tachilek into Thailand on foot? I know they're strict at the airport for sure, but am wondering if I can get away with buying two (or three! ) bottles of decent red wine on the Myanmar side and walking it back to Thailand.

I fly into the coutry every other month and I always bring 2 bottles of wine. I believe this is the legal amout. Wheras Vodka Whiskey etc is 1 liter.

[theoldgit]

I am pretty sure that wine and spirits are lumped together under the 1 litre allowance, though doubt if they would kick up a fuss over .5 of a litre over the top.

Yes they hang around like vultures at the Customs point and on my last few trips they have been scanning all suitcases.

It's pretty strange that a bottle of the local firewater costs less than a bottle of wine.

[sceadugenga]

I've entered Thailand through Tachilek more times than I care to remember and on not one occasion have I ever been queried as to anything I brought with me.

On one glorious crossing I recall staggering through under the weight of 4 liters of Scotch, a 4 liter flagon of Italian red wine and 2 six packs of European beer.

[PattayaParent]

I fly into the coutry every other month and I always bring 2 bottles of wine. I believe this is the legal amout. Wheras Vodka Whiskey etc is 1 liter.

When I asked at the DF on arrivals they told me the allowance is only 1 litre and it's either/or, not 1 of each (spirits/wine) ie. only 1 litre in total maximum.

[Smokin Joe]

Did a visa run a few years ago in Nong Khai. Duty free liquor shops in abundance at the lao border and we brought back quite a bit. That seemed to be the norm, no one checking.

Old info so take with a grain of salt.

[Roota]

It's pretty strange that a bottle of the local firewater costs less than a bottle of wine.

Yes, seems like a recipe for alcoholism, but apparently the powers that be still see wine as a 'luxury' but cheap hard liquor as a necessity for the working man. Thailand surpassed India a couple years ago and now has the highest duty on wine of any country in the world -- well over 200%.

I normally bring two or three bottles of wine when coming back into the country, something I do every couple weeks. Haven't been checked in at least 20 years.

[andyc2006]

Normally when returning to Thailand, I bring 4-8 bottles of wine and don't declare it. I've been lucky so far, but I'd prefer to just declare it and pay the duty.

I'm returning in August, probably with about 12 bottles... but I can't determine how much the duty will be...

I've poked around http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/Trave...?menuNme=Travel and can only see the standard information (1 liter allowed duty-free).

Can anybody tell me how much they'll charge me if I take my wine through the Red channel at BKK instead of the Green channel? Does Customs need to see the receipts for my wine when I bring it in?

[ZZZ]

Normally when returning to Thailand, I bring 4-8 bottles of wine and don't declare it. I've been lucky so far, but I'd prefer to just declare it and pay the duty.

I'm returning in August, probably with about 12 bottles... but I can't determine how much the duty will be...

I've poked around http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/Trave...?menuNme=Travel and can only see the standard information (1 liter allowed duty-free).

Can anybody tell me how much they'll charge me if I take my wine through the Red channel at BKK instead of the Green channel? Does Customs need to see the receipts for my wine when I bring it in?

I asked customs and their reply was that the only way to bring in cig and alcohol is to stick to the duty free limits, 200 cig and i litre of alcoholic beverage ( it's ONLY 1 litre no matter what the alcohol contents is).

If you want to bring in more you need to obtain an import license before coming in to Thailand, you can not just show up and declare 12 bottles and pay the duty as you can in some other countries.

[callao]

I fly into the coutry every other month and I always bring 2 bottles of wine. I believe this is the legal amout. Wheras Vodka Whiskey etc is 1 liter.

When I asked at the DF on arrivals they told me the allowance is only 1 litre and it's either/or, not 1 of each (spirits/wine) ie. only 1 litre in total maximum.

I was taking a domestic flight with Asia air and while looking thru my carry on bag she found about 4 packs of Marlboro mediums (not available in thailand) starts pulling them out of my bag and says Oh No you can't have these, until I tell her that I'm allowed 10 packs and you can't take them, Oh yes thats right she says and puts them back, if you didn't know the law she would have taken them, had to tell her to f*** off

[spidermike007]

It's pretty strange that a bottle of the local firewater costs less than a bottle of wine.

Yes, seems like a recipe for alcoholism, but apparently the powers that be still see wine as a 'luxury' but cheap hard liquor as a necessity for the working man. Thailand surpassed India a couple years ago and now has the highest duty on wine of any country in the world -- well over 200%.

I normally bring two or three bottles of wine when coming back into the country, something I do every couple weeks. Haven't been checked in at least 20 years.

That is ABSOLUTELY incorrect, and more than likely a PR ploy on the part of embarrased government officials. I know for a fact

that imported wine is taxed at 430%. As far as I know, this is the highest import wine tax IN THE WORLD! I was told that a group

of Thai wineries (monsoon valley, and the other purveyors of boones farm type garbage wines) lobbied some of the Thai senators,

and got them to pass the anti import wine bill. It was supposedly to "protect" the Thai wine industry. Unfortunately, the reality is that

Thailand in their xenophobic zeal, is depriving themselves of an estimated 5 to 10 billion baht per year, which they would earn on

imported wine, if it were taxed reasonably, at 100%. The wine industry here would flourish, as there are many Thai people, and

of course many ex-pats, and tourists who would avail themselves of a great selection of reasonably priced, and high quality wines.

Instead, people are having to pay 2,000 baht for a bottle that I can get in California for $8.00. I went to a nice restaurant (Dr. Frogs)

in Samui recently. The house wine was gato negro, for 1,450 baht per bottle. This wine is $4.00 in Los Angeles, and nobody that I know

drinks it, as it is garbage wine. And it is the house wine at one of the best restaurants on the island. It is a shame that Thailand has to

appear to be so ridiculous, and so unreasonable in the eyes of the world, on this issue. And all for what? Protectionism? Lack of vision

to be sure. Lack of wisdom to be sure. But protectionism of what? An industry to creates a horrific product. They cannot compete with

the foreign market without this silly taxation. Oh well.

[PattayaParent]

They can't compete with the foreign market because the local wine is CRAP.

[jackspratt]

That is ABSOLUTELY incorrect, and more than likely a PR ploy on the part of embarrased government officials. I know for a fact

that imported wine is taxed at 430%. As far as I know, this is the highest import wine tax IN THE WORLD! I was told that a group

of Thai wineries (monsoon valley, and the other purveyors of boones farm type garbage wines) lobbied some of the Thai senators,

and got them to pass the anti import wine bill. It was supposedly to "protect" the Thai wine industry. Unfortunately, the reality is that

Thailand in their xenophobic zeal, is depriving themselves of an estimated 5 to 10 billion baht per year, which they would earn on

imported wine, if it were taxed reasonably, at 100%. The wine industry here would flourish, as there are many Thai people, and

of course many ex-pats, and tourists who would avail themselves of a great selection of reasonably priced, and high quality wines.

Instead, people are having to pay 2,000 baht for a bottle that I can get in California for $8.00. I went to a nice restaurant (Dr. Frogs)

in Samui recently. The house wine was gato negro, for 1,450 baht per bottle. This wine is $4.00 in Los Angeles, and nobody that I know

drinks it, as it is garbage wine. And it is the house wine at one of the best restaurants on the island. It is a shame that Thailand has to

appear to be so ridiculous, and so unreasonable in the eyes of the world, on this issue. And all for what? Protectionism? Lack of vision

to be sure. Lack of wisdom to be sure. But protectionism of what? An industry to creates a horrific product. They cannot compete with

the foreign market without this silly taxation. Oh well.

So the rest of the world rooly, trooly, has it's eyes on Thailand's imported wine taxes?

Having read your oft repeated post on Thailand's corruption, and when taken together with the above gem, I would suggest neither Thailand's "xenophobia" nor "zeal" are within a million miles of your own.

[bangkok101]

Buy your cigs here....they are about as cheap you will find in most airports i've been in. The wine....thats a different story as it is pricey, more than double what you will pay elsewhere.

Ive got some friends coming to Thailand soon and they have

Asked me ….

Are we allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol per person into the country? ( Wine )

And ……

Cigarettes, Do you know how many per person we're allowed to take into the country??

Ive got no idea…. So can any one tell me please…?

Thanks …. Mumbo