TikToker faces 1,650 baht tax bill for sending 10 baht pen to Thailand (video)

[webfact]

 

A Thai man shared his shocking experience on TikTok saying he sent a pen that cost less than 10 baht from New Zealand to Thailand and was charged 1,650 baht in tax.

 

The man posted a video on his TikTok account, @24jetlag, on November 2 revealing his mind-boggling story with the caption: “Tax for sending a pen to Thailand is 1,650 baht!”

 

The man explained in the video that he needed to deliver the power of attorney from New Zealand, where he lives, to his father in Thailand.

According to the Thai man, the lawyer stressed that both the signature and all written content in the document must be in the same ink colour and type. To ensure the legal process went smoothly, the man decided to dispatch the pen he had used in the document along with the six pages of the document.

 

by Petch Petpailin

Photo via TikTok/ 24jetlag

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-11-03

 

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@24jetlag ภาษี ปากกา ส่งกลับไทย 1,650 บาท #ภาษีส่งออก #เด็กไทยในต่างแดน #นิวซีแลนด์ #ส่งของไปต่างประเทศ ♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ - ARMeba

[SmartyMarty]

A new high, or a new low for Thai Customs dept. This is even more outrageous than the story of the expat shipping his used T-shirts to Thailand from USA and being demanded US$30 each duty by Customs.

[Will B Good]

Good to see the authorities are on top of this kind activity.......unless the come down, hard, on people like this, you just don't know where it might end.

[phetphet]

They charged me for one shoe!

[KannikaP]

No way was the Bht 1650 simply tax on the pen. It was probably the whole bill for sending the papers with insurance and secure delivery. No company mentioned here.

[NoDisplayName]

And now for the rest of the story........

 

Quote

....Upon shipping, the courier inquired about the declared value of the package, which the man indicated as US$360.....

 

......Officials explained that the paperwork did not require a tax but the pen did. He declared the value of the package to be US$360, so the tax was calculated on that basis......

 

But, Shirley, he didn't really do that, did he?

 

Quote

...The man said that he still felt that the price was not fair to him. By declaring it at this higher value, he ensured that he would receive suitable compensation in case the company lost his parcel. If not, he would have risked being unable to recover the full value of the document and have to bear the expense of reissuing it....

 

Well, in that case, we can rewrite the headline.

 

Quote

TikToker faces 1,650 baht tax bill for fraudulently overstating value of package contents.

 

[khunPer]

He made a wrong custom declaration...
"Officials explained that the paperwork did not require a tax but the pen did. He declared the value of the package to be US$360, so the tax was calculated on that basis."

[OneMoreFarang]

TikTokers deserve to pay extra. 

[smedly]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The man posted a video on his TikTok account, @24jetlag, on November 2 revealing his mind-boggling story with the caption: “Tax for sending a pen to Thailand is 1,650 baht!”

are there no pens in Thailand

 

why ## would you do such a thing

 

i think this is more about his Tik Tok 

[scorecard]

8 minutes ago, smedly said:

are there no pens in Thailand

 

why ## would you do such a thing

 

i think this is more about his Tik Tok 

His reason, in full logical detail, is earlier in the thread.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, SmartyMarty said:

A new high, or a new low for Thai Customs dept. This is even more outrageous than the story of the expat shipping his used T-shirts to Thailand from USA and being demanded US$30 each duty by Customs.

A new low for AN posters who don't read the articles.  This Thai man declared the value of the packet as US$360 when he sent it, that's why duty was charged in Thailand.   

 

Importing shirts into Thailand attracts import duty on their value, regardless of whether they have been worn.

[Liverpool Lou]

14 minutes ago, smedly said:

are there no pens in Thailand

 

why ## would you do such a thing

Why would you not read the article that covered that aspect?

[BritScot]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

No way was the Bht 1650 simply tax on the pen. It was probably the whole bill for sending the papers with insurance and secure delivery. No company mentioned here.

Yes it would be. Thai customs and Post Office are well known for being crooks: it coat us more money getting our stuff out of port and 35km than from our front door in Scotland via Singapore.

Plus a t shirt from uk with tax 3 x value of the t shirt. 

 

Welcome to Thailand.

[Celsius]

Yes, he fraudulently declared the value of the parcel.

 

Any country would do the same.

[Lucky Bones]

TikTokker has problem.

Righto, that must be a first...enuff said for 15 seconds of fame.🙃🙃

[Photoguy21]

2 hours ago, SmartyMarty said:

A new high, or a new low for Thai Customs dept. This is even more outrageous than the story of the expat shipping his used T-shirts to Thailand from USA and being demanded US$30 each duty by Customs.

I had that. A bunch of old T-shirts I used on site shipped back and they wanted Baht 2,000 in duty. It was obvious they where not new. I refused to pay.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 minute ago, Photoguy21 said:

I had that. A bunch of old T-shirts I used on site shipped back and they wanted Baht 2,000 in duty. It was obvious they where not new. I refused to pay.

Used shirts are not exempt from import duty when you're importing shirts.   Import duty is calculated solely on their value, as judged by Customs, same as in every country.

[Sigmund]

Wait till their start taxing the retirees or other foreigners here for the income from abroad. The pen tax will seeem peanuts.

[proton]

I thought there was no tax at all up to goods woth less than 1600 baht? Another nest of corruption and thievery 

[Liverpool Lou]

18 minutes ago, proton said:

I thought there was no tax at all up to goods woth less than 1600 baht? Another nest of corruption and thievery 

He declared his parcel's value at around B12,800 ($360).  No corruption or thievery in this case.

[roo860]

2 hours ago, phetphet said:

They charged me for one shoe!

Do you only have one leg?🦿

[LivinLOS]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Importing shirts into Thailand attracts import duty on their value, regardless of whether they have been worn.

 

yes and used t shirts are always 30 usd EACH in value.. 

[phetphet]

5 hours ago, roo860 said:

Do you only have one leg?🦿

Sort of at the moment. I am hobbling around on crutches due to a motorbike accident.

 

But the shoe thing was due to trying on two different sizes, and the salesgirl put two different sizes in the bag. I sent the wrong one back and they sent me the correct one. So it cost me postage AND whatever the customs charged me.

They seem to be a lot more stricter nowadays. Many of my parcels from the UK used to get through without problem. Everything seems to be opened or x-rayed and charged for now.

Edited November 3, 2023 by phetphet

[KanchanaburiGuy]

Wow, the exchange rate must have tanked hard!

 

Claimed value of the pen was "US $5." Headline on this thread says it was only a "10 baht pen."

 

5 bucks US only buys 10 baht worth, these days? My goodness, thing have changed!

 

*wink*

[scorecard]

9 hours ago, BritScot said:

Yes it would be. Thai customs and Post Office are well known for being crooks: it coat us more money getting our stuff out of port and 35km than from our front door in Scotland via Singapore.

Plus a t shirt from uk with tax 3 x value of the t shirt. 

 

Welcome to Thailand.

 

As already posted several times, he did it for a specific logical reason.

 

It's there in detail at the start of the thread!!!!

[khunpa]

16 hours ago, webfact said:

According to the Thai man, the lawyer stressed that both the signature and all written content in the document must be in the same ink colour and type.

Always wonder who came up with these kind of “rules”…

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Good to see the authorities are on top of this kind activity.......unless the come down, hard, on people like this, you just don't know where it might end.

Making a bit  of a 'pen and ink' about it?

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, SmartyMarty said:

A new high, or a new low for Thai Customs dept. This is even more outrageous than the story of the expat shipping his used T-shirts to Thailand from USA and being demanded US$30 each duty by Customs.

I got stitched up 15 years a go when I shipped some household goods from the UK to Thailand prior to my arrival.

Everything was second-hand from my home.

When my wife went to customs they demanded a huge fee.

[mikebell]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

the lawyer stressed that both the signature and all written content in the document must be in the same ink colour and type.

I used to cash a cheque for staff wages every month at the K Bank at Lotus S. Pattaya.  Every month for five years I was viewed as a terrorist. Because I didn't know the Thai year, I used to ask the cashier to write the date in.  One month she wrote it on a piece of paper and I copied it onto the cheque using a pen chained to the counter.  It was a different colour from the other writing on the cheque!  The bank refused the cheque and lost the million+ deposit as we changed banks shortly after because I refused to make a 30 kms round trip for another cheque from the treasurer. I told the manager I would do this if she didn't cash the cheque; she just shrugged.

[ChrisY1]

17 hours ago, khunPer said:

He made a wrong custom declaration...
"Officials explained that the paperwork did not require a tax but the pen did. He declared the value of the package to be US$360, so the tax was calculated on that basis."

And he's a lawyer...wouldn't want him on my case!