"Medical" device ordered outside Thailand being held by Import Export Inspection Division

[Liverpool Lou]

On 11/6/2024 at 4:58 AM, rwill said:

Officially it is items below 1,500 baht in value that are exempted, except for restricted categories.

No, officially all items are now liable for VAT.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 11/8/2024 at 11:49 AM, Hakuna Matata said:

Always use Air Mail Postal Service only, and you will pay only 7% Thailand VAT.

If a postal item is pulled for inspection here, import duty can also be levied, not just VAT.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 11/9/2024 at 8:05 AM, Bagwain said:

My missus was threatened as well. They also said why don't you buy in Thailand. 1/ Can't get it. 2/ When we did find some it was rediculously priced. 

So you could get it in Thailand!

[Liverpool Lou]

On 11/15/2024 at 12:28 AM, keysersoze276 said:

My mom sent me a cowboy hat from USA for my birthday years ago.  She paid $50 for the hat and paid for the shipping.  Upon delivery I had to pay around 3000 THB for customs fees. About 300% the cost of the hat.  You might be better off chalking it up as a loss.

Import duty ("Customs fees") are based on the estimated value (CIF), plus shipping and insurance, not the purchase cost, plus VAT.  

 

But I think you may be exaggerating as your maths does not work;  $86 fees (B3,000) on an item cost of $50 plus shipping and insurance and VAT is nowhere near 300%.

Edited 22 hours ago by Liverpool Lou

[Liverpool Lou]

On 11/15/2024 at 12:42 AM, NoDisplayName said:

 

Can you get a prescription from one of those strip mall doctors that write the health certificates for drivers license applications?

 

If not, tell them the same item is offered on Lazada by dozens of sellers without prescription.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/2311-medicube-age-r-booster-pro-6-in-1-skin-care-booster-apps-i5108963023.html

It's the importation of the item by the OP that is the problem, that they're available locally is irrelevant, those local sellers may have obtained a licence.

[Puccini]

5 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It is also possible that it is suspected to be nothing more than a sex toy, the importation of which is illegal.

 

Doubtful. If that were the case, customs would have said so, not asked for a doctor's prescription.

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Puccini

[ModdaPunk]

On 11/5/2024 at 8:35 AM, jakow said:

My wife ordered a small electronic device from Korea called the "Medicube AGE-R Booster Pro Home Skin Care Device"

 

Nice device.

What does it have to do with skin care though...

I don't get it...

 

 

 

[Puccini]

2 hours ago, ModdaPunk said:

 

Nice device.

What does it have to do with skin care though...

I don't get it...

 

 

 

 

The link you posted doesn't seem to work.

 

To learn about the purported advantages of the use of a product, read the user's manual for that product.

[Bagwain]

11 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

So you could get it in Thailand!

No we couldn't get it in Thailand.

 

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Bagwain said:

13 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

So you could get it in Thailand!

No we couldn't get it in Thailand.

Yet you posted that you could find some but you just did not like the price?...

"2/ When we did find some it was rediculously priced. 

[ModdaPunk]

5 hours ago, Puccini said:

The link you posted doesn't seem to work.

 

Libtard censorship.

Sorry about that.

Nevermind :)

[Somjot]

On 11/5/2024 at 3:35 PM, jakow said:

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this. My wife ordered a small electronic device from Korea called the "Medicube AGE-R Booster Pro Home Skin Care Device" that supposedly makes your skin absorb lotion better. It cost about 8,000 baht. It's being held up with the Import Export Inspection Division because they say it's in the "medical/massage" category and they want a prescription from a doctor. We went to the local hospital, but the doctor said he doesn't know about this product and won't write a prescription. I talked to the seller and they said this is not a medical product, it's just for personal skin care, and they should not be holding it. They're charging us every day that they hold it, and they won't send it back to the shipper. So basically we're about to lose a whole bunch of money. Has anyone dealt with this before?

 

 

You have to understand that the problem is not you or the product you ordered, it is the customs. They are well known for that.

About 10 years ago, when I was arranging my dental lab, which produces all the dentures like crowns, bridges, dentures for my dental clinic in Pattaya, I ordered a milling device from Germany.

 

The price was something around 8000,- €.

 

I had done my homework and knew that any medical device used on humans needs a special import license, but this was a milling unit which clearly was not used on the human body.

It fabricated telescopic crowns which would later be glued to human teeth, but no direct contact between the milling unit and the patients.

 

I don't know the actual regulations but at that time all you needed was a certificate of free sale from the manufacturer but no import license for medical devices.

 

So I got the certificate and the manual and an additional letter from the manufacturer, had all that translated in Thai, notarized and certified by the Thai embassy.

 

And I did not choose one of those big shipping companies but a smaller and much more reliable one called SCHENKER.

 

And my contract with Schenker said “door to door service”.

 

Guess what? Customs kept it anyway.

 

Reason: that was a machine used on the human body and needed an import license.

No matter how many times I showed them my certified and notarized documents, they said we do not believe it.

 

I told them to unpack it and show me how it could be used on a human head or teeth.

They refused. Of course, they knew I was right. They just didn't care.

 

I told them to send it back. They refused again.

They told me, if I could not get that licence, they would keep it for some time and then sell it on some auction.

I said, then why don't you sell it to me directly, just name your price.

 

Guess what? They refused again, laughing and telling me that whatever happens to the device I would have to pay for the storage, as long as it stays with customs starting from day one since they keep it.

 

I was devastated and had nightmares of me paying for that storage until my very last day.

 

Well sometimes God really works in mysterious ways and the whole problem was solved by coincidence, although my late mother used to say there is no such thing like coincidence.

 

Trust me, more than once things happened to me in Thailand that made me think, maybe she was right.

 

However, being a German dentist in Pattaya I know a few businesspeople and one of them used to invite friends for dinner in his villa every Friday.

 

It was 2014, the military had just taken over the country and most big companies had sent all their managers and CEO's back home, leaving only the less important employees behind.

 

And one of those guys left behind by his company was that handsome young man sitting next to me with a pale face scared for his life as he was sure it will come to a violent end in the next days.

 

“Aww” I said “is that your first coup? Yes, that's bad. In these third world countries you never know when this happens but as soon as those revolutionaries have won, first thing they do is execute all their opponents and after that they will torture and execute all foreigners from countries which were good friends with their opponents”.

 

He stopped eating as he had lost his appetite and stared at me.

 

I continued: “Well, you might be lucky though, maybe some warlord thinks you are pretty and keeps you as his personal mistress”.

 

Everybody else burst out in laughter while the poor guy looked more and more miserable with his jaws dropped.

 

I said “buddy, you're in Thailand, things work differently here, there will be some mobs, a few fights maybe even a few people get shot, but not intentionally more likely because of collateral damage and that's it.

That's how they do it here and they do it all the time. So don't worry, no need to write down your last will or say goodbye to your family just relax and enjoy the show. And besides, you're lucky, as you will have a story to tell. You're not the one with problems.”

 

He looked at the others, everybody was nodding, and he relaxed instantly.

 

“What bothers you?” He asked me and I told him the whole story about that very important lab device and my problems with the customs.

 

“Which shipping company did you use?”

 

“Bloody Schenker”

 

“Well” he answered “then maybe both of us are lucky today because as fate would have it I am the last manager from Schenker, who is still in Thailand and I have a good friend at customs, or better a friend with a taste for good wine. You will have your device by next week.”

 

I had to pay for a  few bottles of expensive wine plus 30,000 baht storage fee for three months But finally got my milling machine.

 

So my advice, thank you for reading my long story by the way, to you is:

 

either you know somebody, who knows somebody at customs or if your wife has a certain level of education and is not afraid of authorities, she could talk to them, show them how much you paid for that device, convince them that was a single deal and you won't do it again and somehow agree on a reasonable price.

 

Do not go by yourself. They don't negotiate with Farangs. I live here for some years, I speak, read and write Thai on university level, they still would never negotiate with me in such situations.

 

If that doesn't help, consult a lawyer who again could talk them into some deal or at least tell them to destroy (aka keep) the device so that no further storage fees will have to be paid by you.

 

Doing nothing might result in very expensive fees and never forget they are one of the most powerful authorities in the Kingdom.