Importing Personal Items

[jaiyenyen]

I have just moved from England to Thailand.

Before i left England, I sent four tea chest size boxes of personal items cd's, books,photos, kitchen stuff, camera and lenses, breadmaker, etc, to Thailand.

Two weeks ago,

when the boxes got to Thailand, i paid an agent to clear it all through customs and deliver it to my new home. The agent now tells me i must pay another 7000 baht import tax for some of the items (not sure which ones) before i can get any of my things, oh, and now he tells me that two of my boxes have broken open.

None of the items are new, they are all used.

I understood that you were allowed to bring in one consignment of personal items TAX FREE

Am i being ripped off ?

Regards

Jaiyenyen

[The Skipper]

Tax free, yes.

Bribe free, no.

Yes, it's normal.

[bendix]

I paid a very good Thai company around 18000 to have all my books delivered from NZ to Thailand recently. The quote was around 50% of quotes I was getting from the other end in NZ.

They came through customs no problem, although when I looked at the bill (which was as quoted) I noticed a 300baht item for 'custom agent fee'. Presumably that was some pre-organised bribe.

[JimmyTheMook]

I paid a very good Thai company around 18000 to have all my books delivered from NZ to Thailand recently.

So you could not live with out all those sheep pics?

[bendix]

Will someone please call the Cliche Control Police. We have a multiple offender here.

[highchol]

as soon as get my wellies on

[technocracy]

In short yep your being ripped off.

Personal belonging are 100% tax free, hel_l I even imported 2 tea chests into Laos and I didn't have to bribe anyone - the only charge in Laos was the overnight storage cost at airport. Which came to a grand total over 18000kip - approximately £1 ($2).

I personally would of gone and collected them at the airport rather than leaving it in the hands of a local.

[smartecosse]

I personally would of gone and collected them at the airport rather than leaving it in the hands of a local.

and you would probably have still been stiched up

[onzestan]

Many, many years ago I also had a box sent over (sea transport) by a house to house service.

Nothing but used items, and everything that was in it was listed on the bill of lading.

The customs seized the crate because there was one item that was not allowed to enter in Thailand at that time, and I didn't know it was prohibited.

The item was a well used B & D circular saw amongst other electrical tools (I was a bit of a DIY freak at that time).

The saw was confiscated plus a fine of over 7.000 Baht ( 17 years ago) and the rest was freed.

Maybe there was something amongst your effects that caught their attention

Cheers

Stan

Edited June 7, 2007 by onzestan

[LinkPopularity]

there's a difference between a tax and a fee, when they charge you a fee, it's for the work, it's not a tax !

very important ! ... you're only allowed to import tax free if you're actually living here ! official residency that is ... and max 500kg !!

[jaiyenyen]

there's a difference between a tax and a fee, when they charge you a fee, it's for the work, it's not a tax !

very important ! ... you're only allowed to import tax free if you're actually living here ! official residency that is ... and max 500kg !!

Yes, been living here for two months, Thai wife guaranteed that i live in our house, but they said i had to pay 7000baht TAX on the items because i don't have a work permit with my non-resident "o" visa.

To make it clear, i paid a 15,000 baht fee for their work, which i don't have a problem with. however, i had to pay an additional 7000baht Tax, it is the additional amount that i'm pi**ed off about.

Max weight was well under 500kg.

As an update, i've just checked through all the stuff, and i am missing a digital camera, and a portable DVD player. OK, i know it's not the end of the world, It's more the thought that someone has had me over, and is laughing at my expence.

Thats it, i've got to go and have another lay down, blood pressure is on the rise again.

Happy Days

Jaiyenyen

[mikethevigoman]

there's a difference between a tax and a fee, when they charge you a fee, it's for the work, it's not a tax !

very important ! ... you're only allowed to import tax free if you're actually living here ! official residency that is ... and max 500kg !!

Yes, been living here for two months, Thai wife guaranteed that i live in our house, but they said i had to pay 7000baht TAX on the items because i don't have a work permit with my non-resident "o" visa.

To make it clear, i paid a 15,000 baht fee for their work, which i don't have a problem with. however, i had to pay an additional 7000baht Tax, it is the additional amount that i'm pi**ed off about.

Max weight was well under 500kg.

As an update, i've just checked through all the stuff, and i am missing a digital camera, and a portable DVD player. OK, i know it's not the end of the world, It's more the thought that someone has had me over, and is laughing at my expence.

Thats it, i've got to go and have another lay down, blood pressure is on the rise again.

Happy Days

Jaiyenyen

It is no better if importing with fedex or any of the other carriers, the thais do not beleive any declared value,you re charged at a price as to bring it up to the thai retail price of the item in thailand, it has now happened to me 3 times, bought a set of wheels for a truck declared value $400 us, customs /tax charges 14.000 baht and i was told on 3 occasions it was 30 per cent duty,i now have another item at customs on a 5 day service ( fedex ),got to thailand from florida in 3 days ,been at the airport customs for a week,they have called 5 times to ask me questions about contents, i have said on 5 occasions ,open the box and look if you dont beleive me, i know this is a bit off topic but i mention it as caution for anyone wishing to import anything,customs here is not a service as in some of our home countries but a business out to extract as much money as they can,.and to add to my drama with this last consignment they sent a driver to my home yesterday to take away my wifes id card ( a copy didnt suffice ) ,im about to tell them to stuff it ( the parcel )where the sun dosent shine and wipe my mouth of it, drives me mad,.

[mikethevigoman]

Try to get your stuff sent to a Thai. They sometimes let fees and charges slide if the packages are addressed to a Thai national. Also don't get stuff couriered in. Use regular insured or registered mail if at all possible (that was told explicitly to me by a top level Thai Customs Official!).

I get all the stuff I order from eBay and the like sent now to my g/f, and never had a problem since.

I was ripped with a 3,000THB charge for a 4-disc DVD pack (Futurama Season 4) from Amazon so I can sympathise. The DVD only cost a little over 1,000THB.

Thanks for the advise, i find normal post from the us seems so slow i imagine it crosses the country by covered wagon !,.and i dont know about you but as another heavy ebay user i find the americans either dont want to send international and or wont change their regular shipper , i send goods there and the best has been 10 days worse 41, god only knows why !

[chuchok]

I know that things are getting tighter with Customs dept these days.A lot less underthetable <deleted>.many people in some of these departments are a running a bit scared at the mo.This is one good thing that the current junta are doing. There is a corruption hot line that you can ring.The wife used to use it .In her words "If more people dobbed in currupt people,Thailand would be a better place to live"

[chevykanteve]

I know that things are getting tighter with Customs dept these days.A lot less underthetable <deleted>.many people in some of these departments are a running a bit scared at the mo.This is one good thing that the current junta are doing. There is a corruption hot line that you can ring.The wife used to use it .In her words "If more people dobbed in currupt people,Thailand would be a better place to live"

What is the number?

[samran]

I know that things are getting tighter with Customs dept these days.A lot less underthetable <deleted>.many people in some of these departments are a running a bit scared at the mo.This is one good thing that the current junta are doing. There is a corruption hot line that you can ring.The wife used to use it .In her words "If more people dobbed in currupt people,Thailand would be a better place to live"

hehe, the man at the Ministry of Finance who was put in charge of overseeing customs is the same man who after the coup sacked (yes sacked) the same idoits who gave Thaksin a tax free ruling on the sale of shares to Temasek. Oui Oui mon amie, he his a hard arse and has been sticking his boot into customs of late. But as he is a member of the much maligned junta, he'll be gone in about 8 months, and no doubt customs will be back to their old tricks.

As for the OP...so far I'm afraid other posters have given bad advice.

The import of your items was not tax free. To get tax free status on your personal belongings, you need to be moving here with a work permit, or you need to be a Thai citizen returning to Thailand after more than 1 year abroad.

We moved back here from the UK in 2005. If we shipped things under my wifes name - and she is on a Non-O- then we would haven't gotten the tax free thingy, so we shipped everything under my name - a thai citizen - and got everything through. I paid about 200 baht storage fee for them keeping my stuff at the port.

As for the 'injustice' of it all for those who aren't exempt or who do get stung....swings and round abouts my friends. I shipped stuff to Australia and while I wasn't taxed, Australian customs did charge a hefty amount $300 I recall, for them to sort through my goods for inspection.

[chuchok]

As for the 'injustice' of it all for those who aren't exempt or who do get stung....swings and round abouts my friends. I shipped stuff to Australia and while I wasn't taxed, Australian customs did charge a hefty amount $300 I recall, for them to sort through my goods for inspection.

Par for the course i'm afraid in both NZ and Oz.User pays an all that....still,I'd rather pay an inspection fee,than get fleeced by a corrupt official.

[samran]

As for the 'injustice' of it all for those who aren't exempt or who do get stung....swings and round abouts my friends. I shipped stuff to Australia and while I wasn't taxed, Australian customs did charge a hefty amount $300 I recall, for them to sort through my goods for inspection.

Par for the course i'm afraid in both NZ and Oz.User pays an all that....still,I'd rather pay an inspection fee,than get fleeced by a corrupt official.

While in principal I agree, and support that statement, at the end of the day they all have you by the short and curlies unless you pay.

[chuchok]

As for the 'injustice' of it all for those who aren't exempt or who do get stung....swings and round abouts my friends. I shipped stuff to Australia and while I wasn't taxed, Australian customs did charge a hefty amount $300 I recall, for them to sort through my goods for inspection.

Par for the course i'm afraid in both NZ and Oz.User pays an all that....still,I'd rather pay an inspection fee,than get fleeced by a corrupt official.

While in principal I agree, and support that statement, at the end of the day they all have you by the short and curlies unless you pay.

true story:Wifie was asked to contribute to an Immigration officials retirement plan.Wife called the corruption hotline and it all went away....She also insisted one day that a policeman issue her with a ticket,rather than pay with cash.Upshot was that she paid an extra THB300.I of course, insisted that she pay from her money...not mine.

[MTW]

I decided to just ship some things here on Thai Air as boat seemed to complicated. I don't know how much the weight was now, but I paid about $1500 US for shipping fees from LA to Chiang Mai. Pretty much everything was used except for the fact that I sometimes buy things and haven't had a chance to wear them yet, but I cut off all the tags, and the majority of the things were clothes, and some silverware, vases, etc. A few things I had bought in Thailand 20 years ago and was shipping back.

I was told in LA that shipping in a Thai's name was better so did that. But then the customs here made a bunch of stories that it wasn't better, and said to change it back to my name. Every day when I went there, they had some BS reason why I could not get my things that day, and were charging me storage every day. Then they said that I needed to bring my last expired passport. I did that, and everyday was a new stupid story about some paper I needed to bring, or about how they didn't have workers to put my boxes on my truck I had waiting each time.

After we had settled about 3 times on prices (bribes basically) they would change them to a higher price. The last day, the called and said "my boss is opening your boxes and I cannot control what is going to happen so can you give me 20,000 baht and I will bring them right now to your house?"

I had also told them at least 20 times, to go ahead and open my boxes, because they seemed (fake) worried that if that happened I would be screwed, when in the end I know this was total BS, they never even wanted to open the boxes, and if they had opened them, they would only find that I didn't owe them any money. This is the basic reason why my boxes sat there for 3-4 weeks and I had big storage bills.

I think they just screw you over, and they play hardball there, and there isn't much you can do about it. You have already invested the price of the stuff, and the shipping, and they know you will pay something to them rather then leaving it. I would have loved to have the satisfaction of just saying, "go ahead and keep it all and go <deleted> yourself" but most of the things I really cared about were photos and things I cannot replace.

Although I would have loved to have more of my things with me in Thailand, I know I would have paid through the nose to get them here, and can only be happy I didn't decide to ship too much.

Maybe you could try agreeing to whatever price they say they will deliver to your house for, and then coming up with less at the moment. I only say this because we had agreed at least three times to a price, and then always got a call that said things had changed. Maybe you can change it on them, and just say, oh, sorry, I don't have that much cash now.

[The Skipper]

I decided to just ship some things here on Thai Air as boat seemed to complicated. I don't know how much the weight was now, but I paid about $1500 US for shipping fees from LA to Chiang Mai. Pretty much everything was used except for the fact that I sometimes buy things and haven't had a chance to wear them yet, but I cut off all the tags, and the majority of the things were clothes, and some silverware, vases, etc. A few things I had bought in Thailand 20 years ago and was shipping back.

I was told in LA that shipping in a Thai's name was better so did that. But then the customs here made a bunch of stories that it wasn't better, and said to change it back to my name. Every day when I went there, they had some BS reason why I could not get my things that day, and were charging me storage every day. Then they said that I needed to bring my last expired passport. I did that, and everyday was a new stupid story about some paper I needed to bring, or about how they didn't have workers to put my boxes on my truck I had waiting each time.

After we had settled about 3 times on prices (bribes basically) they would change them to a higher price. The last day, the called and said "my boss is opening your boxes and I cannot control what is going to happen so can you give me 20,000 baht and I will bring them right now to your house?"

I had also told them at least 20 times, to go ahead and open my boxes, because they seemed (fake) worried that if that happened I would be screwed, when in the end I know this was total BS, they never even wanted to open the boxes, and if they had opened them, they would only find that I didn't owe them any money. This is the basic reason why my boxes sat there for 3-4 weeks and I had big storage bills.

I think they just screw you over, and they play hardball there, and there isn't much you can do about it. You have already invested the price of the stuff, and the shipping, and they know you will pay something to them rather then leaving it. I would have loved to have the satisfaction of just saying, "go ahead and keep it all and go <deleted> yourself" but most of the things I really cared about were photos and things I cannot replace.

Although I would have loved to have more of my things with me in Thailand, I know I would have paid through the nose to get them here, and can only be happy I didn't decide to ship too much.

Maybe you could try agreeing to whatever price they say they will deliver to your house for, and then coming up with less at the moment. I only say this because we had agreed at least three times to a price, and then always got a call that said things had changed. Maybe you can change it on them, and just say, oh, sorry, I don't have that much cash now.

That is a typical experience I'm afraid.

My last box got held up for 10 days and the fees kept rising.... + 17 emails and a dozen calls! For 1 box!

I paid 20,000 tax for an item valued at 20,000.

The price went up anther 5000bt between the Customs Office and my place... while it was in the Truck.. got a call...another 5,000 under the table and we bring it now.

The gangsters at Thai Customs chase away alot of business too.

What manufactured or import/export Co. wants to deal with these people?

Every department of the govt is run like this. Steal and Cheat. Nobody will do anything.

Is it any wonder that this Countrys economy is headed for the toilet?