Thailand Customs to Apply VAT on All Postal Imports

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

 

You will receive a notice from the Customs in your mailbox. You will pay the tax online, you don't need to visit the customs office under normal circumstances. After you have paid the tax, Thailand Post will deliver the package to your home.

 

Happend before - we purchased something for my son from Next Thailand with free delivery (value was about 1300 baht)...   but the shipment came from overseas....  Thai customs calculated delivery which nudged the total cost up over 1500 baht, and then they charged us something in the region of 700 baht Tax (which included their handling charge or something similar)... 

 

Seemed very dodgy to me... 

[Jimjim1]

2 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Then you must go down to the post office and stand in line to pay your 7 baht tax to get your package.

Obviously you think 7 baht is to little and not worth your time To go and pay it, well the good news (not ) is in double QuickTime they will discover just how lucrative VAT is and treble it, currently 30million parcels at 7 baht  = 210 million baht for free so imagine when the greedy side kicks in AGAIN.

[redwood1]

There must be millions of package come into Thailand every year that are not from Ebay Amazon Lazada Shopee ect........And that is going to be a huge problem for customs.....

 

I can see warehouses full of packages waiting to be processed for the tax Even a 10 baht package would need to pay VAT....

[Peterphuket]

2 hours ago, Celsius said:

So i dont get it.

 

If you order on lazada do you pay tax now?

 

This would make zero sense and it would be a logistics nightmare.

Of course you pay tax, what do you think about VAT?

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Marco51 said:

If they flatrate parcels independant of what is inside, VAT will in future also have to be paid for books? Books are duty- and VAT free internationally.

"If they flatrate parcels independant of what is inside..."

But they have not said that is what they are doing.

[crazykopite]

It’s not aimed at expats it’s aimed at the 70+ million who live in Thailand Tony needs the money there are lots of brown envelopes to fill !

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, jimgilly said:

Stay put.  You are where you deserve to be.

There are quite a lot of people who have a very good life here, don't have to worry about a couple of thb as they are not economical refugees.

[IamNoone88]

Well, there THB 1.5 Billion THB sitting right there to come out of the pockets of the consumer to the Govt. Not sure how that will help the local economy as it means less being spent in local markets and shops that may have otherwise circulated around towns and villages.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, OldmanJ said:

Is it only me or does it appear that the Thai government are trying to slowly drive us expats out of the country and look for an alternative country to spend our money and final days.

Yes, it is just you.   Where has it been stated that this change is directed at expats as opposed to the other 99.99% of the population?

[orchis]

this government needs billions to pay for the digital wallet giveaway.

[AhFarangJa]

1 hour ago, Robert Paulson said:

There’s a tax you’ll pay on this tax

Exactly what happens to the tax on fuel in England. They levy the fuel tax, then add VAT onto the total, so you are paying tax on your tax. All tax is theft, pure and simple.

[Liverpool Lou]

33 minutes ago, Expat68 said:

Double taxed, double VAT. GREAT

Where did you get that "double taxed, double VAT" garbage from?

[Liverpool Lou]

34 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

True. Thailand is so good at setting up integrated IT solutions.

Which ones have been so badly set up, then, that justify your sarcastic broad brush assertion?

[Expat68]

2 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Where did you get that "double taxed, double VAT" garbage from?

Pay tax in my own country and pay VAT in my own country 

[Liverpool Lou]

34 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

 

They will keep the packages at the regional customs office warehouse at your location, not at the Post Office.

Items delivered by post on which duty/VAT is payable, are currently retained at the local post office for the recipients address, not the Customs Department.

[Liverpool Lou]

38 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Doesn’t most the stuff come via private companies? Lazada, Kerry etc. maybe the post office does some but I don’t think that they do most of them

Yes, and this new arrangement is specified in the OP as applying only to postal deliveries.

[John Drake]

8 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Which ones have been so badly set up, then, that justify your sarcastic broad brush assertion?

 

Wait until Srettha taxes that charm school you operate.

[PeterA]

I love it when they charge VAT on on an item shipped from Thailand, such as repairs. When the item is returned, If it arrives at all, I get to  pay VAT and Tax all over again.

 

[Liverpool Lou]

48 minutes ago, moe666 said:

My wife always has some box of crap coming  to the house in one of those pickup yes from China, looks ok until it isn't. This is a goos move on Thailands part, now they can go to the shop look directly at what they are buying.

It won't affect your wife as the OP clearly states this application of VAT is for postal deliveries, not her deliveries in "those pickups".

[riclag]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

File photo for reference only

 

Thailand's Customs Department will start charging Value-Added Tax (VAT) on all imported postal goods next month. The move comes in response to the influx of cheap imports from China, which have an unfair advantage over domestically taxed goods.

 

At present, imports sent via post aren't subject to VAT or import duties if each item's cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value is less than 1,500 baht. However, plans from the Finance Ministry intend to enforce VAT collection on all imported goods, regardless of their value, but continue to exempt import duties.

 

According to Lavaron Sangsnit, the finance permanent secretary, this new tax policy will be established quickly by the Customs Department, which is a swifter approach than revising the Revenue Code. Nevertheless, the VAT-exempt rule will not apply to prohibited items, Sangsnit added.

 

The source from the Finance Ministry revealed that each country sets its VAT threshold based on its economy. In Thailand, the limit was raised from 1,000 to 1,500 baht per item in 2018.

 

Figures indicate that Thailand records more than 30 million parcel imports every year, with over half of these parcels claiming CIF values of less than 1,500 baht. Significant amounts of cheap goods are driven by online platforms retailing Chinese goods.

 

However, assessing the tax on each individually boxed item is a daunting task for customs officers, opening the need to devise effective methods of tax collection on low-cost goods.

 

-- 2024-04-29

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Me thinks Thailand is modernizing their revenue schemes!

I expect the prices at Cheese to meet you ( local falang grocer)will be going thru the roof.

Blimey 

[chilli42]

Very timely reporting … this change to the law has been in effect since January.  At first, all packages had to be picked up and duty/tax paid at customs or post office … depending on the shipment method.  I made 3-4 trips to get my packages released and I am done with all importing.  They were letting small packages (large envelopes) through until this month. Now even items with a $20 value are being assessed tax, duty and handling.  As an example I had to pay $10 for tax, duty and handling to DHL for a $20 item. UPS and DHL have taken a bit of the pain out of this by allowing you to pay for tax and duty online before delivery. I travel a good deal so now I just have packages delivered to an address in the USA that I then bring back with me.

[Liverpool Lou]

44 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

What about regular post - i.e. grandparents sending presents over etc.... 

This is only about postal deliveries.  "Grandparents presents" have never been exempted from VAT or import duty, unless by virtue of low value or specific exemptions such as laptops.

[chilli42]

1 hour ago, Marco51 said:

If they flatrate parcels independant of what is inside, VAT will in future also have to be paid for books? Books are duty- and VAT free internationally.

So far, in my experience, they are opening all packages … even A4 size envelopes.

[stix40]

Live in the UK

Think you'll find it's a lot worse than Thai 

UK really is rip off Britain! 

[paahlman]

3 hours ago, NotEinstein said:

This is obviously aimed at the huge amount of Lazada and Shopee parcels direct from China via the delivery services, not via the post office. I guess it will be up to the delivery guy to collect the tax payment upon delivery, or else how is it supposed to work?

Like aliexpress does already. Its paid by Aliexpress.. Not the customer.. Depending on which country the destination is. The tax is calculated into the price. When you accept and have paid. Its sent to you.. Ali gets the bill.

[cnx101]

3 hours ago, John Drake said:

Prayuth was better.

Bring back the toad and his nice watches

[ChrisY1]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Can't imagine China allowing this to happen!

Amazon announced this in 2021....this is normal

[Purdey]

I'm sure Thais buy stuff from abroad more than westerners here. 

Will they tax books? Of course. Hardly anyone here reads.

[yankee99]

2 hours ago, Celsius said:

So i dont get it.

 

If you order on lazada do you pay tax now?

 

This would make zero sense and it would be a logistics nightmare.

If you order from a thai shop on lazada the seller is paying 7% vat

 

If you order from lazada the Chinese shop and or customer is not normally paying 7%

[ikke1959]

So they have a plan of how to pay that tax? Or only all parcels have to be picked up at the postoffice? What happens if the postman doesn't have any change back as many paid a small  amount and he is out of change? Thai post officers will be very happy with lines for less than 10 THB to pay