Thai woman with foreign husband furious at having to pay 54,000 baht on designer goods

[Molly Malone]

7 hours ago, cliveshep said:

Yet more grist to the mill of anti-tourism to Thailand. Simply put if you are fairly wealthy with high priced goods and clothing - don't come to Thailand, you'll leave naked and broke. To quote a quotation I read recently where a Thai Customs Officer said they could impose punitive dues and a box empty except for air if they chose such is their powers.

 

So I'd say go elsewhere or leave expensive goods behind along with your money. 54,000 for personal possessions if the woman was telling the truth is simply armed robbery by customs officers and shows Thailand to be a land of thieves and corrupt officials and a place best avoided - is that the real message TAT wants to show the world?

I have considerable real jewelry which I have owned for decades, been in and out of Thailand many times, never a problem, not a word. Is this some NEW sting they have conjured up? Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. The hotel quarantine rip off was bad enough, now this, BEHAVE your selves TAT!

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Tom H said:

Pay your import tax. Same like in all other countries, rich designer lady.

In which other countries are tourists charged tax for their own belongings or gifts to friends & family ??? 
 

 

[Jonathan Swift]

6 hours ago, DGS1244 said:

Nothing new, always been this way. Why waste money on designer clothes when copies here are cheaper anyway?

Authenticity becomes part of the status and bragging rights. To such people the money is not wasted, since they have plenty of it to waste. No doubt some of these items were intended for discerning Thai people willing to pay. And no doubt they knew the risks of this happening beforehand. So they gambled and lost, and now are whining about it. 

[The Hammer2021]

This can happen,  and  does happen  anywhere- import duties/taxes are put on good  that look new. In the UK the limit was low- make your  goods appear old or used or worn- snide goods are another matter

[Flink]

9 hours ago, CharlieH said:

That'll encourage the "high roller" tourists they claim to want to visit Thailand.

 

Always about the MONEY !

 

 

 

 

Maybe that's TAT's plan, bring in the high rollers and tax them on everything they're wearing or carrying. Mind you, it's not unique to Thailand, I've been done by customs in the UK travelling back from Central America with T-shirts and Chinos, all over 6 months old and still in the dry cleaning wrappers. They demanded I pay duty on everything, even down to the painted coconut I was presented with as a leaving gift! The only new thing I had that might have been liable for duty was my watch but they missed that. In the end I had to pay 200 quid (this was back in the 80's) so I paid by cheque, went through to arrivals, found a phone and reported my cheque book and Access card stolen so they never got a penny.

[Pattaya Spotter]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Netizens commented in numbers advising that evidence of purchase from the start of journeys was needed and that goods could be held under a Customs Bond for reexport. 

And one could also use the "red" lane and ask if any duty is owed on their expensive foreign purchases, rather than try to sneak the purchases through the "green" lane.

[Bangkok Barry]

9 hours ago, CharlieH said:

That'll encourage the "high roller" tourists they claim to want to visit Thailand.

 

Always about the MONEY !

 

 

 

 

They acted exactly as customs officers would at any airport in the world.

I once, in a time long ago, bought two large video cameras in New York, early ones that recorded onto full-sized cassettes. And when I arrived back to the UK at Gatwick I dutifully (pun) went to the red channel and asked how much duty I had to pay. And I was treated as if I was a criminal asking how much I had to pay on a kilo of cocaine. They went through every item in my suitcase and kept me there from 6am until 10 when their friendly local 'lawyer's office opened before finally giving me a bill. Meanwhile, a car I had ordered and paid for had left, of course.

I never went through a red channel again.

[Bluespunk]

33 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

In which other countries are tourists charged tax for their own belongings or gifts to friends & family ??? 
 

 

If they are bringing goods into the country as a gift, that is basically importing them. They would pay tax if they ordered such from abroad.

[pixelaoffy]

Thai customs . What else to expect. I was charged custom taxes once for my notebook computer because it 'looked new' and I had no proof it wasn't new . Low life money grabbers. Law unto themselves 

[pixelaoffy]

7 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

If they are bringing goods into the country as a gift, that is basically importing them. They would pay tax if they ordered such from abroad.

Not new items 

[pixelaoffy]

17 minutes ago, dutchweller said:

Just business as usual for the criminals running the customs department.

It's common knowledge they are among the most corrupt theives employed by the government.

 

Absolutely,the image of Thailand that TAT don't put on their fake glossy advertising

[Bluespunk]

3 minutes ago, pixelaoffy said:

Not new items 

The article mentions new shoes bought as gifts and the poster I quoted referred to items being brought into the country as gifts.

[dinsdale]

I've scrolled through a few pages of replies and what seems to be missing is this.....

"A Thai woman with a foreign husband..." foreign being the key word here. Just the same old corrupt customs officers at the airport. Been doing it for decades. Thai husband I suspect no problem. Go straight through.

[geisha]

1 hour ago, Tom H said:

Pay your import tax. Same like in all other countries, rich designer lady.

Please someone put me straight on this. I’m British, 
if I go on holidays to Thailand with my designer handbag, my shoes, a t shirt or two, bikini , my Rolex, and am a tourist staying 10 days, I have to pay tax in that country ? 
 I thought ,  that if you bring designer goods into the country you are resident of, then you have to pay duty on them over a certain amount of money depending on each country. 
i did not know that this was Thai law for tourists .

[richard_smith237]

44 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

And one could also use the "red" lane and ask if any duty is owed on their expensive foreign purchases, rather than try to sneak the purchases through the "green" lane.

How do you ‘sneak’ your own belongings into Thailand ? 
Never brought in a phone or laptop ? 
 

You should obviously declare them !!! 
????

[richard_smith237]

12 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

I've scrolled through a few pages of replies and what seems to be missing is this.....

"A Thai woman with a foreign husband..." foreign being the key word here. Just the same old corrupt customs officers at the airport. Been doing it for decades. Thai husband I suspect no problem. Go straight through.

No, it’s not that at all….…. 
 

… otherwise every mixed couple would be complaining of getting stiffied, this is not the case… 

Girl got stopped at a random

check, that’s all I see here. 

[richard_smith237]

30 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

If they are bringing goods into the country as a gift, that is basically importing them. They would pay tax if they ordered such from abroad.

They admitted one item was a gift…

 

Its a shakedown…. That’s all. 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Molly Malone said:

I have considerable real jewelry which I have owned for decades, been in and out of Thailand many times, never a problem, not a word. Is this some NEW sting they have conjured up? Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. The hotel quarantine rip off was bad enough, now this, BEHAVE your selves TAT!

It’s not a new sting or a sting per-se…  the girl was unfortunate to get stopped. The ‘boxed’ items were the giveaway, that led to customs checking everything.

 

Once stopped ‘pandora’s box’ opens..

like the BiB pulling over a motorcyclist, they’ll check everything until they find something… 

 

NOTE: Airport Customs are notoriously lazy and rarely stop anyone…. Their money is made at the ports / shipping. 
 

 

[androokery]

3 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

What does that mean exactly?

 

My wife has genuine Luis Vuitton and Gucci bags, and Yes we could afford to pay customs tax, but why?

 

It's her stuff bought and paid for in the US for personal consumption.

 

Are you suggesting that when she visits in a few months she just should be prepared to cough up, just because she can, for a clearly fraudulent scam????

How is it clearly fraudulent? There were new unused items in original boxes at a value far exceeding the limits set out by law. 

Theoretically, if travelling with LV or Gucci bags means you not only have to pay exorbitant prices to acquire them, but also pay through your nose to travel with them, don't these bags just get more desirable as a way of saying you have enormous wealth, a very desirable status symbol - beyond the silly level they have already attained?

[it is what it is]

9 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Did they get a receipt? if not, a definite scam, Thais can't help themselves

 

nothing to do with being thai, it's a common scam the world over to bring high value goods into countries as 'personal items' with the intention of selling them, avoiding taxes and therefore making a decent profit.

 

OP, maybe citizens from your country would never do anything illegal...

 

 

[androokery]

27 minutes ago, geisha said:

Please someone put me straight on this. I’m British, 
if I go on holidays to Thailand with my designer handbag, my shoes, a t shirt or two, bikini , my Rolex, and am a tourist staying 10 days, I have to pay tax in that country ? 
 I thought ,  that if you bring designer goods into the country you are resident of, then you have to pay duty on them over a certain amount of money depending on each country. 
i did not know that this was Thai law for tourists .

I would say no. But if the handbag is still clearly unused, worth GBP5000 and is in its original packaging, the shoes are rare GBP50000 sneakers in a vacuum sealed package, the two t-shirts are original Prada at GBP800 with hangtags still on, the bikini is handknitted gold filament designer wear at GBP10000 and the Rolex is a brand new expensive model in unopened original package - get prepared to pay taxes.

[cncltd1973]

another reason you can't have nice things in Thailand

[Polaky]

The dead giveaway that they failed to publish was the woman forgot to remove the price tags off the jewelry she was wearing ????

[SomchaiCNX]

10 hours ago, 2long said:

They MIGHT be genuine tourists who bought and used the goods outside Thailand, in which case duty is not due. Whether or not they plan to take them when they leave makes no difference.

 

However, there are many cases of people claiming that items are for personal use or have already been worn, but plan to sell them for a profit, in which case the Customs guys are just doing their jobs.

 

Who are we to know for sure?

 

But as @Dmaxdan rightly points out, if they're wealthy enough to have these items, then they can afford to pay the tax.

Being rich is not a crime. Yet even the top of the communist parties have more luxurious items and properties than a normal capitalist can afford. If the good are used and for personal use during a holiday than the customs should stay out of it. Yet another government department with a very high corruption rate that tries to scam the people.

[herfiehandbag]

8 hours ago, Excel said:

But guess designer fakes are ok because they have less value but of course 10 Rolex watches on one arm may raise suspicions  ????

Unless of course you have borrowed them - from a dead friend.!

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

They admitted one item was a gift…

 

Its a shakedown…. That’s all. 

Maybe but they were bringing in shoes (plural) as gifts and that is taxable. 

[hioctane]

Fake designer items are illegal in most countries too. I read an article a while back about how they were fined for having a fake designer suitcase. 

 

Having a suitcase full of designer items is a red flag in many countries too. They think you are smuggling them in to sell..

 

Use your own judgment when traveling. Too many of any items looks like you are trying to avoid import taxes. There is a fine line between “personal” use.

[Heng]

Generally speaking though the Thai customs 'racket' is going the way of the American buffalo (was just watching Dances with Wolves on the plane).  This kind of thing just speaks to their desperation.   Gone are the days of suitcases of undeclared currency and gold bars.      

[Meat Pie 47]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

In which other countries are tourists charged tax for their own belongings or gifts to friends & family ??? 
 

 

Most countries

[natway09]

Come on guys & gals,

Just coming for a holiday, bringing as much back to sell as they thought they

could get away with.