Thai Customs Rant

[G Rex]

Okay - I am Peed Off .   I purchased an electrical item for my car from China. It is not available from Thailand - ie is not manufactured or even sold in this country.

It was purchased online & I paid with paypal .

After it arrived in Thailand DHL contacted me to say it had been checked by customs, & they required my proof of payment for the item.   I forwarded my PayPal receipt as requested.

Now - because the vendors understated the price of the item ( a CarPlay & phone mirror box for my car stereo) - I am now required to pay VAT (Ok , I accept that) ,  a service fee (to DHL) , a storage fee (once again to DHL , charged daily until finally cleared) and a fine to Customs (amounting to 50% of cost of item) because of the value underestimate.   I know - First World problems and all that!

DHL say I can ask vendor to pay fine! LOL! Fat chance they will come to the party , they will never have to deal with me again, so what incentive is there for them to do 'the right thing'?

DHL are not doing well at present, several items that I have purchased from Europe have either not arrived or taken an inordinate amount of time to arrive here.

Thai Customs - they are just a law to themselves.

Now I have cracked it & told DHL that if the item is not released in the next 24 hours, they can send it back to China & the vendor can reimburse me. 

Okay - Rant over!     I feel so much better now! 

[simon43]

DHL = "Doh! Hard Luck!" ????

[Nojohndoe]

I can understand the fury behind the objection.

I doubt DHL will return the item and the vendor will reimburse in/as consequence.

Out of pure curiosity just  how much does a pulsating gear shift  knob actually  cost?

[MrJ2U]

17 minutes ago, G Rex said:

DHL

I've always had a problem with them.

Seriously large sums of cash

 

I know its to late now but just emphasize to the sender that to use anyone besides DHL in the future.

 

Good luck next time.

 

 

 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

25 minutes ago, G Rex said:

Thai Customs - they are just a law to themselves.

No, it's you who thinks that you're a law unto yourself, it's your purchase that contravened the law by having it's value wrongly quoted.   Don't rant at Customs or DHL.  Jesus...

 

By the way duty, VAT and the DHL charge is normal, nothing to do with your illegally undervalued item.

Edited September 7, 2021 by Liverpool Lou

[Liverpool Lou]

29 minutes ago, G Rex said:

Now I have cracked it & told DHL that if the item is not released in the next 24 hours, they can send it back to China & the vendor can reimburse me. 

Okay - Rant over!     I feel so much better now! 

You only think that you have cracked it.  Threatening DHL and the Customs Dept. after breaking the law won't help your case and they certainly won't give in and let you have the items just because of that threat.   They won't give a toss.   DHL probably won't return the item to the seller either, more than likely they will record it as delivery not accepted as a result of your refusal to pay import duty (paying that is your sole responsibility) so the chances of your getting your money refunded that way aren't good.

 

Hope you feel even better now.

[Liverpool Lou]

17 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

37 minutes ago, G Rex said:

DHL

I've always had a problem with them.

Seriously large sums of cash

 DHL doesn't accept parcels containing cash, hardly surprising that they had problems with you.   It's the same for all the courier companies, none of them will accept cash. 

[MrJ2U]

42 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

 DHL doesn't accept parcels containing cash, hardly surprising that they had problems with you.   It's the same for all the courier companies, none of them will accept cash. 

I meant I ended up paying large amounts of cash to customs.

 

It always happened with DHL.  

 

Funny!

 

I wish I was exporting and importing large amounts of cash.

[phetphet]

I never use DHL. I always try and use the post office ( tracked and to be signed for if possible).

Maybe not possible from China. I don't suppose you bought it from Aliexpress. They don't normally use DHL, but it might have been cheaper.

 

On another note. Because of the pandemic, Thailand like other countries is very short of cash. I can foresee Customs tightening up even more in the future to bring in more readies. 

[Liverpool Lou]

36 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

 DHL doesn't accept parcels containing cash, hardly surprising that they had problems with you.   It's the same for all the courier companies, none of them will accept cash. 

I meant I ended up paying large amounts of cash to customs.

 

It always happened with DHL.  

So that's paying import duty/VAT to Customs, not DHL; DHL is just the agent for the Customs Dept.  All the other main courier companies do exactly the same thing, they're contracted to the Customs Dept. and none of them are permitted to bring dutiable items into the country without charging duty if it is due.

[MrJ2U]

3 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

All the other main courier companies do exactly the same thing,

They don't.

 

Thats why I insist on using anyone but DHL.

 

You'll find threads about unhappy customers with DHL.

 

Its quite easy to request other shipper's especially when you purchase thousands of dollars of merchandise each month.

 

 

[Golden Triangle]

6 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

So that's paying import duty/VAT to Customs, not DHL; DHL is just the agent for the Customs Dept.  All the other main courier companies do exactly the same thing, they're contracted to the Customs Dept. and none of them are permitted to bring dutiable items into the country without charging duty if it is due.

You seem to have some experience with Thai customs, could you possibly cast your eye over this ? 

 

 

[MrJ2U]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, it's you who thinks that you're a law unto yourself, it's your purchase that contravened the law by having it's value wrongly quoted.   Don't rant at Customs or DHL.  Jesus...

 

By the way duty, VAT and the DHL charge is normal, nothing to do with your illegally undervalued item.

I wouldn't take it personally.

 

 

 

 

[G Rex]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, it's you who thinks that you're a law unto yourself, it's your purchase that contravened the law by having it's value wrongly quoted.   Don't rant at Customs or DHL.  Jesus...

 

By the way duty, VAT and the DHL charge is normal, nothing to do with your illegally undervalued item.

Sorry Officer.      I did not ask the supplier to undervalue the item.  I have actually not done anything wrong.  Yes, I am aware that VAT & !0% Duty is chargeable.

 

Are you always this feisty ?   Or just having a bad day?

 

 Anyway , this is a forum , so we are all entitled to our opinion & to have our say.

 

 

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Thai Customs: probably “self- financing” ( no govt budget/ funded entirely from “duty & tax” take !)

.So you WILL get “Done” (like akipper)……They ARE “self- regulating” (lawless), like Thai Imm…… 

 

I was charged “Duty” via Thai Customs stooges DHL of 9,000 baht for a suitcase of declared Used Clothing ! Zero Resale Value. Zero Duty Really. No Appeal. No Choice.

Prewarned I might pay half that.

High Value Business Coats & Shirts so paid ….

Paid 4,500 baht for “family surprise” UK Xmas Foods which after DHL Transport worked out same as if bought from Central Food Hall ! So justified Correct in fact. Paid 3,000 baht Duty for declared Documents. Again Zero Resale Value, ……. semi- gangsters……

 

[digbeth]

Chinese Stuff on Aliexpress or Thai online market like Lazada, Shopee or JD always comes in tax free, or at least the duty must have been pre-calculated in the freight, I think things from China enjoy some FTA deals where goods under certain amount comes in tax free.

 

Your choice in choosing DHL

DHL can't help it, they pay the duties all the time every time for speedy process, at least you got a reciept, but good luck trying to appeal that, things coming through the postal system you can appeal the valuation before coughing up the cash but that requires legwork

[ezzra]

Anyone worth their salt and living in this country knows from painful costly experience not to use carriers like DHL and others DHL is good only for documents and valueless items and even than they will still open to take a look...

[amexpat]

AIS tried to send me a SIM card in Vietnam. But they sent it DHL 

so I never got it. I just got ordered to fill out a form, then another, then to request approval from another committee that never replied.  

 

AIS was very cooperative. DHL earns it's awful reputation. 

[phutoie2]

11 hours ago, simon43 said:

DHL = "Doh! Hard Luck!" ????

I was one of their airport night delivery drivers in UK. 

Known as, Documents, Handled and Lost..... 

[MrJ2U]

9 hours ago, phetphet said:

I never use DHL. I always try and use the post office ( tracked and to be signed for if possible).

Maybe not possible from China. I don't suppose you bought it from Aliexpress. They don't normally use DHL, but it might have been cheaper.

 

On another note. Because of the pandemic, Thailand like other countries is very short of cash. I can foresee Customs tightening up even more in the future to bring in more readies. 

Ali baba.

 

I've imported expensive pool tile because its so much cheaper than Thailand despite the shipping costs.

 

They use multiple shipper's to help alleviate much of the customs tax otherwise I would have paid.

 

I imagine most of the confiscated or unpaid packages is split up between the Thai custom agents.

Edited September 8, 2021 by MrJ2U

[jackdd]

The problem is DHL, not Thai customs, wrong title.

Edited September 8, 2021 by jackdd

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

I've ordered several Lazada and Shopee items from China. They go to a BKK warehouse from some unknown intl service, perhaps the regular post office as it takes so long, then from there go out via Thai services like Kerry. Other than the length of time, never any issues.

 

There are many such items from China on these selling platforms, they make up quite a bulk of their business. If customs were to hassle all of them, it'd kill them. Thus I imagine they've already made arrangements to ensure their smooth delivery.

 

Amazon USA has a similar arrangement. Shipping and potential customs fees are precalculated when you make your orders. Occasionally you get a refund when it turns out they weren't needed. They then go to a BKK warehouse, then out like the others.

[Crossy]

14 minutes ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

They go to a BKK warehouse from some unknown intl service,

 

I believe it's Thailand Special Line (or a similar service) which has some sort of bulk-clearance arrangement. I've had a number of items from China turn up with a local logistics company with a dispatch address in BKK.

 

[phetphet]

9 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Thai Customs: probably “self- financing” ( no govt budget/ funded entirely from “duty & tax” take !)

.So you WILL get “Done” (like akipper)……They ARE “self- regulating” (lawless), like Thai Imm…… 

 

I was charged “Duty” via Thai Customs stooges DHL of 9,000 baht for a suitcase of declared Used Clothing ! Zero Resale Value. Zero Duty Really. No Appeal. No Choice.

Prewarned I might pay half that.

High Value Business Coats & Shirts so paid ….

Paid 4,500 baht for “family surprise” UK Xmas Foods which after DHL Transport worked out same as if bought from Central Food Hall ! So justified Correct in fact. Paid 3,000 baht Duty for declared Documents. Again Zero Resale Value, ……. semi- gangsters……

 

I was sent one training shoe from the UK. They billed me all duties on that.

 

Better to use the Post Office system. Doesn't always get through without them hitting you up, but often does.

 

I often wonder if it might be better to address things to a Thai name rather than a foreign one. Just in case someone has the mindset of tax the rich farang.

Edited September 8, 2021 by phetphet

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

post office & thai addresee: plus avoid DHL (certainly some Customs connection there)

…..excellent ideasPP  ! will do next time.

[Liverpool Lou]

12 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

You seem to have some experience with Thai customs, could you possibly cast your eye over this ? 

 

 

If Import duty has been fully paid in the UK, included in the price, you will have no extra import duty and VAT to pay.  If it has not, the courier will charge the official duty rate, VAT and a small admin charge for collecting the duty on behalf of the Customs Dept.  All charges which will all be detailed on the delivery slip.

[Liverpool Lou]

12 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

14 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, it's you who thinks that you're a law unto yourself, it's your purchase that contravened the law by having it's value wrongly quoted.   Don't rant at Customs or DHL.  Jesus...

 

By the way duty, VAT and the DHL charge is normal, nothing to do with your illegally undervalued item.

Expand  

I wouldn't take it personally.

I'm not.

[Liverpool Lou]

11 hours ago, G Rex said:

I did not ask the supplier to undervalue the item.  I have actually not done anything wrong.  Yes, I am aware that VAT & !0% Duty is chargeable.

 

Are you always this feisty ?   Or just having a bad day?

 

 Anyway , this is a forum , so we are all entitled to our opinion & to have our say.

This is a forum , so we are all entitled to our opinion & to have our say.

[CharlieH]

Been said countless times, where possible avoid couriers on dutiable items.

Stick with the Post Office, you may still get charged but there wont be any "fees" .

 

 

 

[G Rex]

31 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

This is a forum , so we are all entitled to our opinion & to have our say.

Umm.  I think I said that already…

 

 

Note to self - ignore English Dunnies