Import duties on houshold belongings

[hullmonkey1]

I searched the forum for a similar topic but couldn't find anything. My question is; What percentage of value can I expect to pay when importing my household goods to Thailand. The goods are typical house contents, sofa's, beds,Table/chairs TV's, Refridgerator etc.

 

Thanks in advance

[bigupandchill]

Because the answer to this question is unknowable in advance the consensus is selling everything and buying new here is the way to go. Plus stuff from colder dryer countries generally doesn't last here in the tropics.

[blackshadow]

most household goods can be classed as personal effects and therefore NO duty payable......

I brought loads of stuff here and did not pay duty.....golf clubs fishing tackle....mountain bike comp. microwave etc

[hullmonkey1]

4 hours ago, bigupandchill said:

Because the answer to this question is unknowable in advance the consensus is selling everything and buying new here is the way to go. Plus stuff from colder dryer countries generally doesn't last here in the tropics.

Thanks for the reply. I have considered selling everything and buying new in Thailand, just need to work out the best option.

[hullmonkey1]

4 hours ago, blackshadow said:

most household goods can be classed as personal effects and therefore NO duty payable......

I brought loads of stuff here and did not pay duty.....golf clubs fishing tackle....mountain bike comp. microwave etc

Thanks for the reply, very good info! How did you ship your stuff?

 

[vinny41]

Only possible if you have a work permit or married to a Thai national that has lived overseas

1. In the case of a foreigner who has relocated to Thailand, one of the following evidence is required:
   1. Letter from the Immigration Office certifying that you will be granted a temporary stay for a year.
   2. Letter of permission from the Department of Employment that Being allowed to work in Thailand for not less than 1 year
   3. http://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_F01_160426_01&ini_men

[vinny41]

There are people that have sucessfully import household belongings here the problem you will find is timeline Most imported 10-15 years ago and the rules have changed since then if you ask the question has anyone imported household belongings recently you will find the answer is zero unless they were married to a Thai that had lived overseas and now returning back to Thailand or they had a work permit

[hullmonkey1]

2 hours ago, vinny41 said:

There are people that have sucessfully import household belongings here the problem you will find is timeline Most imported 10-15 years ago and the rules have changed since then if you ask the question has anyone imported household belongings recently you will find the answer is zero unless they were married to a Thai that had lived overseas and now returning back to Thailand or they had a work permit

Thanks for the clear concise info (and link) Vinny. I am married to a Thai so its worth me looking into shipping our household goods. 

[vinny41]

1 minute ago, hullmonkey1 said:

Thanks for the clear concise info (and link) Vinny. I am married to a Thai so its worth me looking into shipping our household goods. 

If you married to a thai and she has lived overseas just remember to ship back in her name only

[sezze]

6 hours ago, vinny41 said:

Only possible if you have a work permit or married to a Thai national that has lived overseas

1. In the case of a foreigner who has relocated to Thailand, one of the following evidence is required:
   1. Letter from the Immigration Office certifying that you will be granted a temporary stay for a year.
   2. Letter of permission from the Department of Employment that Being allowed to work in Thailand for not less than 1 year
   3. http://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_F01_160426_01&ini_men

Would nr1 not be viable under the Thailand Elite visa ?

"Despite your Thailand Elite visa validity is 5 years, it allows to stay in Thailand for a maximum of 1 year per stay. If you don't plan to travel outside Thailand during a full year, you can contact the member service which will send you a letter to extend your stay for another year. It's straight forward with just a form to fill, the letter from member service and your passport."

 

[vinny41]

11 minutes ago, sezze said:

Would nr1 not be viable under the Thailand Elite visa ?

"Despite your Thailand Elite visa validity is 5 years, it allows to stay in Thailand for a maximum of 1 year per stay. If you don't plan to travel outside Thailand during a full year, you can contact the member service which will send you a letter to extend your stay for another year. It's straight forward with just a form to fill, the letter from member service and your passport."

 

Customs still require

1. Letter of permission from the Department of Labor that Having been allowed to work in the country for not less than 1 year
2. And there doesn't seem to be anything on the internet about shipping r household goods.  with Elite Visa status

[CFCol]

It depends on your visa status I think.

I moved here 8 years ago on a long term OA retirement visa. As long as my household goods were imported within 3 months of my arrival there was nothing to pay.

[sandyf]

9 hours ago, hullmonkey1 said:

Thanks for the reply, very good info! How did you ship your stuff?

 

The reply was incorrect, there is duty payable. There is an exemption for Thais that are returning to Thailand. A friend of mine shipped his in his wife's name but still  had to pay some duty on stuff that was obviously not hers.

On the basis that most of the stuff will be second hand it is done on assessment relative to age. If something looks brand new you will pay duty and anything obviously old will be exempt.

i know a few people that have done it and it has not been very much, I didn't have to pay anything.

I used Asian Tigers for the shipping and found hem quite efficient.

[LatPhrao]

I am currently receiving shipments of my personal effects via Fedex.  Fedex handles the import and every box of very used and personal effects is being assessed 30% Thai Customs on CiF.  I am here on a long term 'retirement' visa.   

I accepted this at first but would really like to know who / where to lay claim and receive back the duty charges.  I have long suspected that Fedex and Thai Customs are complicit in this rip off.  Fedex claims U$100 for 'freight', that's an automatic U$30 on top for each shipment.

[ChrisKC]

You are up against it with, or in my case, without, Thai customs. I paid a shipping company in England 2000gbp to bring my personal effects to thailand. No furniture, only a few obvious personal effects, all properly labelled as such. 

 

After a few weeks, I was contacted by someone in Bangkok claiming to be the customs demanding B30, 000 import duties. I paid it and another b2000 to get it all to Chiang Mai and when it arrived my prized Tiffany lamps were broken.

This was 20 years ago. 

 

Other Posters on here are recommending, for other reasons, not to bring furniture and other large items. 

 

My story revolves around me being completely ignorant of procedures and unfamiliar with corruption everywhere in Thailand. 

 

The silly thing is, I had bought a new desktop computer, 1,000gbp with me on the plane from UK to Thailand, declaring it at customs and being waved through without paying anything. 

[blackshadow]

10 hours ago, hullmonkey1 said:

Thanks for the reply, very good info! How did you ship your stuff?

 

20 foot container.....to laem chabang.....

contact A G S fourwinds they were the inporting agents....

[CFCol]

18 minutes ago, LatPhrao said:

I am currently receiving shipments of my personal effects via Fedex.  Fedex handles the import and every box of very used and personal effects is being assessed 30% Thai Customs on CiF.  I am here on a long term 'retirement' visa.   

I accepted this at first but would really like to know who / where to lay claim and receive back the duty charges.  I have long suspected that Fedex and Thai Customs are complicit in this rip off.  Fedex claims U$100 for 'freight', that's an automatic U$30 on top for each shipment.

This happened to a neighbour of mine because he didn't ship within three months of his arrival on his long term OA visa.

It is correct that new, unused items will be charged.

I know this to be true as I am an ex UK Customs officer

[blackshadow]

52 minutes ago, CFCol said:

It depends on your visa status I think.

I moved here 8 years ago on a long term OA retirement visa. As long as my household goods were imported within 3 months of my arrival there was nothing to pay.

nothing to do with VISA.....

[CFCol]

8 minutes ago, blackshadow said:

nothing to do with VISA.....

So you think you could do this on tourist visa? HaHa

[blackshadow]

10 hours ago, hullmonkey1 said:

Thanks for the reply, very good info! How did you ship your stuff?

 

Normally there is no duty or tax on personal effects if they have been owned for more than one year and used for more than six months. Having said so, there is usually some documentations which you need to fill out to seek free entry of the goods.

[blackshadow]

24 minutes ago, CFCol said:

This happened to a neighbour of mine because he didn't ship within three months of his arrival on his long term OA visa.

It is correct that new, unused items will be charged.

I know this to be true as I am an ex UK Customs officer

i worked in imports and exports company...read this   .......Normally there is no duty or tax on personal effects if they have been owned for more than one year and used for more than six months. Having said so, there is usually some documentations which you need to fill out to seek free entry of the goods.

[blackshadow]

3 hours ago, sezze said:

Would nr1 not be viable under the Thailand Elite visa ?

"Despite your Thailand Elite visa validity is 5 years, it allows to stay in Thailand for a maximum of 1 year per stay. If you don't plan to travel outside Thailand during a full year, you can contact the member service which will send you a letter to extend your stay for another year. It's straight forward with just a form to fill, the letter from member service and your passport."

 

Normally there is no duty or tax on personal effects if they have been owned for more than one year and used for more than six months. Having said so, there is usually some documentations which you need to fill out to seek free entry of the goods.

[DaLa]

I have a business here shipping 40 foot containers from the UK, up to 4 containers a year of household goods. I have an excellent agent here that I can recommend, you would have to supply a list of the goods you wish to ship and your valuation. The agent will then give you a price for the import documentation and duty payable. 

 

If you pm me with more details I will give you professional advice.   

[hotchilli]

16 hours ago, blackshadow said:

most household goods can be classed as personal effects and therefore NO duty payable......

I brought loads of stuff here and did not pay duty.....golf clubs fishing tackle....mountain bike comp. microwave etc

I shipped over many household items, kitchenware, books etc...

got absolutely screwed by customs.

Hindsight I would have sold everything and bought new over here.

[Blue Muton]

21 hours ago, hullmonkey1 said:

Thanks for the reply. I have considered selling everything and buying new in Thailand, just need to work out the best option.

We brought all of our stuff over from England, no tax because I’m married to a Thai.

That was about eight years ago and we’ve not had a single problem from anything resulting from moving it here so I don’t agree that you’d necessarily have any issues.

 The only thing I’ve done is changed plugs on everything, started with adapters but gradually changed them as we settled in.

[blackshadow]

On 12/16/2022 at 9:12 AM, ChrisKC said:

You are up against it with, or in my case, without, Thai customs. I paid a shipping company in England 2000gbp to bring my personal effects to thailand. No furniture, only a few obvious personal effects, all properly labelled as such. 

 

After a few weeks, I was contacted by someone in Bangkok claiming to be the customs demanding B30, 000 import duties. I paid it and another b2000 to get it all to Chiang Mai and when it arrived my prized Tiffany lamps were broken.

This was 20 years ago. 

 

Other Posters on here are recommending, for other reasons, not to bring furniture and other large items. 

 

My story revolves around me being completely ignorant of procedures and unfamiliar with corruption everywhere in Thailand. 

 

The silly thing is, I had bought a new desktop computer, 1,000gbp with me on the plane from UK to Thailand, declaring it at customs and being waved through without paying anything. 

you should have had the goods delivered D D.......