Parcel Sent To Europe Has Not Been Delivered, Customs Want Me To Pay Tax

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Hi,

Just wondering if somebody ever had to face that kind of situation.

I sent a parcel to Europe which has not been delevered, so it has been sent back to Thailand, but customs ask me to pay 30% duty for IMPORTATION !

Don't you think they are crazy to consider it as imported goods when the receipt shows that goods have been made in Thailand?!

What can I do?

Thanks for help.

[sbk]

An off topic and rude response has been deleted.

OP is asking for advice, if you don't have anything constructive to offer then please don't bother to post.

[Crossy]

I doubt this will be of much help, but I suppose it depends how much the stuff is worth and how badly you want it back (or for that matter, how attractive it is to customs staff).

Take a Thai who knows what's happened with you and argue the toss with customs, I assume the package still has its outgoing stamps etc showing that it originated in Thailand, got to be some mileage in that too.

And no, I don't think it's reasonable to demand import duty, but be careful, or they will start slapping 'storage' on the charges as well

[dekka007]

Argue it - They will back down.

I ordered some software from US to Thailand a few weeks ago. Customs asked for 30% Import duty and 7% VAT before they released the item to me.

I refused to pay and checked the correct duty level for Computer Software CD for personal use. Amount of Duty should have been 3%.

I presented this to customs and indeed they amended the invoice to 3% Duty 7% VAT with a smile on their face....

But makes me wonder how many just pay the invoice.....

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Argue it - They will back down.

I ordered some software from US to Thailand a few weeks ago. Customs asked for 30% Import duty and 7% VAT before they released the item to me.

I refused to pay and checked the correct duty level for Computer Software CD for personal use. Amount of Duty should have been 3%.

I presented this to customs and indeed they amended the invoice to 3% Duty 7% VAT with a smile on their face....

But makes me wonder how many just pay the invoice.....

Could you tell me where to contact them? As it seems that Fedex doesn't want to help ("we can't do anything")...

[dekka007]

If Fedex was your agent. They can appeal on your behalf and will do so as does DHL.

Can I ask what the item is worth and what t is exactly? Ill get someone to check the rates for it for you.

You will not escape all import duty sure because the item has been exported already....just the system.

[Nignoy]

My grandson sent me a parcel from Germany to australia a couple of years ago, due to a dyslexic postman, the parcel was returned to germany,the Bundespost charged him return postage and import tax,luckily we were able to prove australia post was at fault and they refunded my grandsons 57 euro,s Nignoy

[solo siam]

Why wasn't it delivered?

[Nignoy]

Why wasn't it delivered?

Because the postman was a lazy git!! and wrote not known at this address, on a correctly printed addressed parcel,reason it was not delivered ,the guy is a tosser!! Nignoy

[frenchFARANGbkk]

If Fedex was your agent. They can appeal on your behalf and will do so as does DHL.

Can I ask what the item is worth and what t is exactly? Ill get someone to check the rates for it for you.

You will not escape all import duty sure because the item has been exported already....just the system.

Thanks for help.

800 USD Tee-shirts (authentic brand)

The parcel has not been delivered because missed some documents and customs didn't want to clear it without these documents.

Fedex said it's not possible to do anything for me, Thai customer service as usual...

[jayjayjayjay]

But makes me wonder how many just pay the invoice.....

Could you tell me where to contact them? As it seems that Fedex doesn't want to help ("we can't do anything")...

The reason FEDEX does not want to help is 2 fold. As I understand the local operation is a sub-leased agency, therefor run by Thai's (as I understand it is NOT a fully owned subsiduary), don't expect them to work entirely in your favour as you would expect in US or UK. Second, FEDEX (Thai) pay an import tax fee "lump sum" to clear all there packages, daily, weekly, monthly I dont know, this is then on charged to clients like yourself. The more they collect the better. They probably make money of this deal in addition to your normal transport fee. The result is stuff is cleared from customs much quicker than any other companies, thus making their operation slicker, but at the same time, if they can benefit by charging you 30% when there may not be any tax required then under the guise of tax they can/and will make additional profit from you.......... Pls let me know if you find any different than this.

Get stuck into them.. note this is an additional EDIT. Every chance to stir up these crooks is a chance to get justice.

Edited August 4, 2007 by jayjayjayjay

[Shah Jahan]

Hi,

Just wondering if somebody ever had to face that kind of situation.

I sent a parcel to Europe which has not been delevered, so it has been sent back to Thailand, but customs ask me to pay 30% duty for IMPORTATION !

Don't you think they are crazy to consider it as imported goods when the receipt shows that goods have been made in Thailand?!

What can I do?

Thanks for help.

once you understand that this is theater and not reality as we understand it in the west, then there should be no problem. Can you match the steps of their dance? just standing there and let them embarrass themselves while you stubbornly keep your cool will usually do the trick.

btw... Fed Ex has a horrible reputation for duties incoming into Thailand - I assume it is an internal or allied scam because you dont see with the DHL or UPS shipments inwards

[gzu88bv]

btw... Fed Ex has a horrible reputation for duties incoming into Thailand - I assume it is an internal or allied scam because you dont see with the DHL or UPS shipments inwards

Thanks for that info. I had two UPS shipments made into deep Isaan and both worked out perfectly.

[Heng]

Are you sure it's a 30% import duty or simply the return charge (if you look in their terms of use, you'll typically find something along the lines of "the original shipper pays all return/handling fees)? The couriers -DHL, Fedex, UPS, etc.- often have return charges..

You have the option not to pay and just to sacrifice your package (which may or may not block future use of your shipping account... not sure, never had an issue with the couriers myself), sometimes there is an abandon if not deliverable option.

Edited August 5, 2007 by Heng

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Are you sure it's a 30% import duty or simply the return charge (if you look in their terms of use, you'll typically find something along the lines of "the original shipper pays all return/handling fees)? The couriers -DHL, Fedex, UPS, etc.- often have return charges..

You have the option not to pay and just to sacrifice your package (which may or may not block future use of your shipping account... not sure, never had an issue with the couriers myself), sometimes there is an abandon if not deliverable option.

Sure it's only tax, as I threatened them already to send the parcel back for free or I would alert expat boards about their methods !

[Heng]

What does it being a tax/duty have to do with you threatening them?

Just got back from some airport deliveries myself, ...according to my freight forwarder, before they send a rejected at destination for customs reason consignment back... they'll ask you (if it wasn't already specified in the air waybill) if you want the goods returned at your expense or to have them abandoned at destination (destroyed at destination for agricultural goods/food stuffs). Also, in the event of delay/customs exemption because of "additional customs documentation required," they'll also inform you through your freight forwarder that you have X number of days to provide additional documentation.

You're saying they just sent it back without inquiring with you at all? I'm presuming you didn't have the certficate of origin documents from the manufacturer and just filled it in yourself hoping it would get through?

Edited August 5, 2007 by Heng

[daeng1212]

Argue it - They will back down.

I ordered some software from US to Thailand a few weeks ago. Customs asked for 30% Import duty and 7% VAT before they released the item to me.

I refused to pay and checked the correct duty level for Computer Software CD for personal use. Amount of Duty should have been 3%.

I presented this to customs and indeed they amended the invoice to 3% Duty 7% VAT with a smile on their face....

But makes me wonder how many just pay the invoice.....

Dekka007 - where did you learn the correct duty charge for your software CD? It seems to me that it might be helpful if someone could post a link to a listing of Thai Customs regulations and rates for incoming mail. It also seems to me that charging for a returned package is incorrect. I've had some bad experiences with Customs myself, and have read that it's the most corrupt government branch in Thailand. Maybe a careful reading of Thai Customs regulations and rates would enable the poster to get their package back without having to pay the bribe - oops, I mean, the tax.

[JRinger]

btw... Fed Ex has a horrible reputation for duties incoming into Thailand - I assume it is an internal or allied scam because you dont see with the DHL or UPS shipments inwards

Have to disagree with you there Shah, I had a runaround with DHL a while back when my brother sent back to Thailand some Thai silk that I took over there. DHL told me I had to pay import duty of nearly 20,000 baht plus storage. I, of course protested, "Thai silk" I'm being taxed on? It took them another two months to "investigate" it and told me I "must pay" the import duty plus storage (at this point a lot more). Again I refused and two weeks later I received the box, 7kg of Thai silk. Several pieces had been "lost" and they charged my brother $750 to his credit card that he used to ship it via DHL, 2-day delivery, and he didn't protest it wanting to avoid any problems....!!!

Regular mail takes longer (sometimes). I get packages sent from the states and it generally takes 9-14 days, no hassle... <deleted> DHL

Edited August 7, 2007 by JRinger