Can anyone tell me the tax situation when you order something like a 8000 THB Expresso machine? Are tax charges clearly shown before you purchase, or do you get stung with a Customs bill when they arrive? 

Aliexpress seems to add on tax even for lowish value items, sometimes. They will show the tax at checkout.

 

I would buy via Lazada or Shopee, no tax so far from China lowish value items

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Aliexpress seems to add on tax even for lowish value items, sometimes. They will show the tax at checkout.

Are you sure?

I query as the last couple of times I looked at buying from Ali there was a banner saying any customs/import duties would be up to the purchaser - and they weren't being shown. Since I had no idea how much I never progressed

6 minutes ago, topt said:

Are you sure?

I query as the last couple of times I looked at buying from Ali there was a banner saying any customs/import duties would be up to the purchaser - and they weren't being shown. Since I had no idea how much I never progressed

That's what they say, any taxes would be added on at checkout, I've not had an issue so far with several purchases 

I buy regularly from Ali Express, Lazada & Shopee. I have never had VAT & Customs duty added to the selling price for items being delivered from outside Thailand. Thai Customs determines if VAT & customs duty are applicable and slug you accordingly. In my experience items purchased from Thai sellers using these platforms their advertised selling price is inclusive of VAT/customs duty but only VAT is displayed on their invoice.

From very recent experience with purchases from Aliexpress, I think standard Thai VAT is included in the purchase price but higher value items, or perhaps type of goods, can be subject to additional import duty. E.g. last month I purchased an item worth 17,000 Baht. It was shipped via Ali's standard shipping which turned out to be SF Express to Thailand and KEX from the airport. Delivery from China only took 5 days and tracking showed it sailed through Thai customs in a couple of hours but when it was delivered to my home I had to pay an additional 1000 odd which was for extra import duty + VAT on this duty (both paid to customs already by KEX) and a handling charge. I was OK with this and it beats a 2 hour drive to the nearest customs house to clear customs by myself. 

From what I know, Thailand now charges 7% VAT on almost all imports, even cheap items. Sometimes Lazada or Shopee include it in the price, so you don’t notice. I'm not sure for AliExpress or Temu, but you might still get hit with tax or duty when it arrives.

1 hour ago, Pim Srisuk said:

From what I know, Thailand now charges 7% VAT on almost all imports, even cheap items. Sometimes Lazada or Shopee include it in the price, so you don’t notice. I'm not sure for AliExpress or Temu, but you might still get hit with tax or duty when it arrives.

Not sometimes,

All items sold on Lazada and Shopee have all taxes included in the price.

I know my question was about the various shopping platforms, but as an aside. I sent around 20 items from the UK to Thailand last week. They arrived yesterday and I picked them up today. Overall value was £470 declared and I was surprised the only duty I had to pay was 70 THB per box, which I assume was a handling charge from Thailand Post. I expected some sort of customs duty for my PC at least.