Import Tax and Duty? Where can I get clear information in English

[OneMoreFarang]

Recently I received a small box with electronic parts which were shipped from the USA. I ordered them on the Thai website of that international company.

In theory the duty was only 10%.

But they charged the 10% on the invoice plus on imagined horrendous shipping cost.

Totally I paid almost 60% on top of my invoice amount for tax and duty - that's crazy!

 

To make sure that does not happen again or at least I know what to expect it would be great if I could check somewhere which duty and tax I can expect.

And where do the officials get those crazy shipping cost from?

Is there somewhere a hotline which I could call?

Or a website with easy to understand information?

 

I am also interested what happens if I ship my own property from Europe to Thailand. There are no invoices. But it seems the tax and duty collectors want invoices to estimate the value.

 

All this seems to me very difficult.

 

And last but not least: Are all these rates fixed and do I have to accept whatever I was charged? Or is there a way to successfully argue with anybody that I don't want to pay too much?

 

 

[CharlieH]

Have you read the information and used the calculators freely available at the top of this forum ?

 

Also as a general rule CIF applies, thats COST, INS, FREIGHT + Vat x 7% TAX 

 

IF some or any of those figures are not provided on official invoice it leaves them to "guesstimate" at will, until you PROVE otherwise.

[ezzra]

Word tot he wise, in most cases when one wishes to import something in to this country that is out of the very ordinary, a bit expensive and unusual, bet will be to see the help of a shipping agents, those people knows they craft and the tricks of the trade and how to deal with the customs, they don't cost a lot but saves you a hell of lot of headaches...

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Have you read the information and used the calculatore freely available at the top of this forum ?

 

Also as a general rule CIF applies, thats COST, INS, FREIGHT + Vat x 7% TAX 

Thanks, that is obviously good advice.

I have to admit I used the search function and I searched for: duty tax. And the pinned article did not come up in the search results. Maybe someone should optimize that search function.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, ezzra said:

Word tot he wise, in most cases when one wishes to import something in to this country that is out of the very ordinary, a bit expensive and unusual, bet will be to see the help of a shipping agents, those people knows they craft and the tricks of the trade and how to deal with the customs, they don't cost a lot but saves you a hell of lot of headaches...

Thanks. Any recommendations and idea about their cost?

 

Last time I imported standard electronic parts, nothing special. And then that huge bill (compared to the cost of the parts).

[DaLa]

We import whole containers so it's worth us using an agent. If you are planning on importing regularly I would suggest you do the same to avoid any surprises. Cost of agent will be dependant on the value of your imports.  I can send you details of our agent and then you have a starting point for likely costs. 

 

Forgot to add...just like Immigration it also depends at which location  the import takes place.

[topt]

On 2/13/2021 at 11:31 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe someone should optimize that search function.

It has been bad, and I mean bad, for so long, I don't think anybody (IE the ones who have to pay for it) cares.......but you know that 

[FlorC]

On 2/13/2021 at 11:22 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Recently I received a small box with electronic parts which were shipped from the USA. I ordered them on the Thai website of that international company.

Can you tell us which company ?

Is it Mouser ?

 

[Muhendis]

On 2/13/2021 at 11:27 AM, CharlieH said:

Have you read the information and used the calculators freely available at the top of this forum ?

 

Also as a general rule CIF applies, thats COST, INS, FREIGHT + Vat x 7% TAX 

 

IF some or any of those figures are not provided on official invoice it leaves them to "guesstimate" at will, until you PROVE otherwise.

Add to that the handling/disbursements charge that gets added by the likes of DHL et. al. which is in lieu of the agents fee.

 

It's worth looking for the HS number which can be found with a quick internet search. At least then you will have a definite customs duty rate.

[Jimbo53]

On 2/13/2021 at 4:22 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Recently I received a small box with electronic parts which were shipped from the USA. I ordered them on the Thai website of that international company.

In theory the duty was only 10%.

But they charged the 10% on the invoice plus on imagined horrendous shipping cost.

Totally I paid almost 60% on top of my invoice amount for tax and duty - that's crazy!

 

To make sure that does not happen again or at least I know what to expect it would be great if I could check somewhere which duty and tax I can expect.

And where do the officials get those crazy shipping cost from?

Is there somewhere a hotline which I could call?

Or a website with easy to understand information?

 

I am also interested what happens if I ship my own property from Europe to Thailand. There are no invoices. But it seems the tax and duty collectors want invoices to estimate the value.

 

All this seems to me very difficult.

 

And last but not least: Are all these rates fixed and do I have to accept whatever I was charged? Or is there a way to successfully argue with anybody that I don't want to pay too much?

 

 

Who delivered...DHL?

[Jimbo53]

https://www.thailandntr.com/en/goods/tariff

[Ferdinando]

Yep, I have just been stung badly as well. I purchased two motorbike helmets from www.motardinn.com (Icon brand, I could not find them in Thailand). The original purchase price was $731.27 USD with $47.85 USD shipment charges. Then, I did something stupid - I picked Thailand Post instead of DHL in selecting the courier.

I live in Hua Hin, I had to go to Prachuap Town customs, 85 Km away, to pay duties and pickup my parcel. 9,026 Baht later, I finally got it.

[VocalNeal]

^ 731.27+47.85=$779.12 x 30= 23,373.6 x 30%=7,012

 

Then 23,373 +7,012 = 30,385 x 7% = 2126

 

7,012+2126= 9138. Not exact but close enough. They used a different exchange rate. 29.xx

 

Not stung. Simply normal import duty + VAT.

 

 

[VocalNeal]

41 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

But they charged the 10% on the invoice plus on imagined horrendous shipping cost.

Totally I paid almost 60% on top of my invoice amount for tax and duty - that's crazy!

 

If you give us the amounts and the shipping costs then we can work out the amount you should have paid. See above post

[Ferdinando]

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

^ 731.27+47.85=779.12 x 30= 23,373.6 x 30%=7,012

 

Then 23,373 +7,012 = 30,385 x 7% = 2126

 

7,012+2126= 9138. Not exact but close enough. They used a different exchange rate. 29.xx

 

 

I suppose the same calculation can be used when importing the Givi kit (rear box and side saddle ones with attachment) for motorbike from Italy? I will determine if worth buying them here in Thailand, since they can be indeed found here, but they look horrendously more expensive on Lazada, we are talking double, not just 30-40% more.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, FlorC said:

Can you tell us which company ?

Is it Mouser ?

 

Yes, Mouser.

The shipping was supposed to be free. But I was charged 10% duty plus 7% tax on imaginary 2,520 THB shipping cost...

And obviously also duty and tax on the parts which I bought. I understand that part.

[VocalNeal]

1 minute ago, Ferdinando said:

I suppose the same calculation can be used when importing the Givi kit (rear box and side saddle ones with attachment) for motorbike from Italy? I will determine if worth buying them here in Thailand, since they can be indeed found here, but they look horrendously more expensive on Lazada, we are talking double, not just 30-40% more.

 

Shipping from some countries , Spain as an example can be horrendous. Maybe Italy is the same. A Givi box maybe available from Givi Malaysia.

 

Could be that motorcycle parts have a higher than "normal" duty. Get the supplier in Italy to describe them as luggage? But if we know the harmonized code for motorbike accessories and luggage we could determine.

[OneMoreFarang]

49 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

Who delivered...DHL?

Yes

is any other company better about duty and tax?

[OneMoreFarang]

14 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

If you give us the amounts and the shipping costs then we can work out the amount you should have paid. See above post

Ok, here are all the details.

The Mouser parts invoice was for 2,334.27 THB

One thing that I noticed now (too late) is the weight on the DHL bill. It shows "3.5" I don't know which unit they use for shipping but I guess it should be kg. My parcel was maybe 0.5kg, probably less. Just a few electronic parts.

 

[Crossy]

Yeah, it's that shipping cost that killed you, if it's incorrect it may be worth talking to DHL but I wouldn't be holding my breath I'm afraid.

 

Duty and VAT is charged on the CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) value which throws many.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Duty and VAT is charged on the CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) value which throws many.

It seems you know the details.

 

How much duty and vat is charged on insurance and freight?

The same percentage as on the parts?

I.e. sample above. 30% duty on a motorcycle helmet means 30% duty on the freight cost of that helmet?

And 10% duty on electronic parts means 10% duty on (imagined) the freight cost of the parts?

 

That's almost funny when the duty on shipping cost depends on the duty of the parts - but I don't feel like laughing about it.

 

[VocalNeal]

21 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Ok, here are all the details.

The Mouser parts invoice was for 2,334.27 THB

One thing that I noticed now (too late) is the weight on the DHL bill. It shows "3.5" I don't know which unit they use for shipping but I guess it should be kg. My parcel was maybe 0.5kg, probably less. Just a few electronic parts.

 

 

Looks perfectly normal? The freight was more than the item. Also sometimes normal.

The only "con" is the DHL 200 "office fee" did they take your blood pressure and measure your weight and height? ????

 

Duty is charged on the "landed cost" not the item value so yes you pay 10%/30% +VAT on the freight cost.

[Crossy]

28 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How much duty and vat is charged on insurance and freight?

The same percentage as on the parts?

I.e. sample above. 30% duty on a motorcycle helmet means 30% duty on the freight cost of that helmet?

And 10% duty on electronic parts means 10% duty on (imagined) the freight cost of the parts?

 

That's almost funny when the duty on shipping cost depends on the duty of the parts - but I don't feel like laughing about it.

 

Yup, that's how it works, same duty and VAT on the entire CIF value. It's done like that the world over ???? 

 

You thought you were getting free shipping but of course someone has to pay DHL and that's the number they put on the weighbill ???? It could have been part of a multiple shipment which is where the "3.5"(kg) came from.

 

For future reference, it's best to avoid the couriers if possible. Small, relatively low-value items are best sent by the regular postal system and mostly get through with nothing to pay.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, Crossy said:

For future reference, it's best to avoid the couriers if possible. Small, relatively low-value items are best sent by the regular postal system and mostly get through with nothing to pay.

Thanks, that's what I do if it's an option. I.e. often from shipments from China.

But it seems many European and American companies only offer transport with the expensive (in more than one way) courier companies.

[Crossy]

12 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Thanks, that's what I do if it's an option. I.e. often from shipments from China.

 

For more expensive items from China where the couriers are likely the only option ask if they can send "Thailand Special Line" which seems to be a way of using the Thailand/China FTA for smaller items by using bulk shipment. I saved ALL the duty and VAT on my solar inverter when the seller offered this route, same shipping fee, took slightly longer. 

 

I've also had items shipped from China "free shipping" arrive with dispatch addresses in Bangkok on the packaging, I'm assuming that is a result of the same/similar technique.

 

[Seeall]

On 2/13/2021 at 11:22 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Recently I received a small box with electronic parts which were shipped from the USA. I ordered them on the Thai website of that international company.

In theory the duty was only 10%.

But they charged the 10% on the invoice plus on imagined horrendous shipping cost.

Totally I paid almost 60% on top of my invoice amount for tax and duty - that's crazy!

 

To make sure that does not happen again or at least I know what to expect it would be great if I could check somewhere which duty and tax I can expect.

And where do the officials get those crazy shipping cost from?

Is there somewhere a hotline which I could call?

Or a website with easy to understand information?

 

I am also interested what happens if I ship my own property from Europe to Thailand. There are no invoices. But it seems the tax and duty collectors want invoices to estimate the value.

 

All this seems to me very difficult.

 

And last but not least: Are all these rates fixed and do I have to accept whatever I was charged? Or is there a way to successfully argue with anybody that I don't want to pay too much?

 

 

Rules of this and that....  its all a a joke.....  import boys slap on whatever they want...  dealt with them many times...  

[VocalNeal]

4 minutes ago, Seeall said:

Rules of this and that....  its all a a joke.....  import boys slap on whatever they want...  dealt with them many times...  

 

This has not been my experience. Customs are jobsworth guys they simply apply the tariffs as they are written. The only difference maybe that DHL collect on behalf of customs so will collect on every package whereas the post office has a minimum not sure but it used to be 400 Baht value. Maybe more now.

 

Up to us to know what the correct tariff is to make a correct calculation prior to purchase.

 

If one buys from a manufacture's Thai "agent" they may or will calculate their profit based on their landed costs which will include duty etc..

There maybe so unscrupulous agents who will calculate their retail price based on European/US costs plus/plus rather than use their discounted agents price, often 65%, plus/plus. 

[Seeall]

6 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

This has not been my experience. Customs are jobsworth guys they simply apply the tariffs as they are written. The only difference maybe that DHL collect on behalf of customs so will collect on every package whereas the post office has a minimum not sure but it used to be 400 Baht value. Maybe more now.

nope.....  how can a USD$ 50 pool loght get USD 55$ import tax?   another: a 600THB cheap camera lens from HG gets a 600THB tax?  better to throw it in the bin...  and then when it gets too complicated for them, items sent back out of thailand and returned omg the papaerwork the endless talk on the phone forget it.....  stay in 

bedrock.....

[VocalNeal]

3 minutes ago, Seeall said:

nope.....  how can a USD$ 50 pool loght get USD 55$ import tax?

 

How much was the freight?

[VocalNeal]

Just an observation but have all the vexed people on here had any experience of importing stuff into their home countries?