Importing Tools

[incadar]

I am an electrician coming to work in thailand. I will be importing my personal effects,I also wish at the same time to import my tools and equipment,drills etc . all are second hand. will I have to pay duty and excise .does anyone have an idea of how much?

[jayjayjayjay]

I am an electrician coming to work in thailand. I will be importing my personal effects,I also wish at the same time to import my tools and equipment,drills etc . all are second hand. will I have to pay duty and excise .does anyone have an idea of how much?

you will never get the answer to this until a Customs official writes out a bill that willl leave you horizontal(for a week)!!

try asking fedex, but they will NEVER commit to something in advance.

[thatguy]

most airlines allow two 50# suitcases. go thru the green line

[Upcountry]

Do Thai authorities scan or search (randomly, perhaps) suitcases on arrival, or is it up to you to decide to declare? IE, any customs issues at all? I don't think so, but maybe I don't remember correctly. There may be a form to fill out.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Do Thai authorities scan or search (randomly, perhaps) suitcases on arrival, or is it up to you to decide to declare? IE, any customs issues at all? I don't think so, but maybe I don't remember correctly. There may be a form to fill out.

There's no declaration form for Customs these days. Just the red or green channels and take your chance.

[andyadam]

I travel with tools quite often through airports, have had a few "questions" but no real trouble.

I wouldnt bother with the drills, flog them at home and replace them hear if they are power drills, battery drills, bring 'em!! But remember......220/240 volt power here, if you're coming from the UK just change the plugs but North America check to see if your chargers are dual voltage.

I have worken on jobs when they ship a container of tools from the US and can't use them!!!!!!!

If you import them through a frieght company, you may have to pay duty, travel with them and you should be ok.

BTW good tools are hard to find here and when you can find them they are expensive!!!!!!!

Edited November 4, 2007 by andyadam

[PadThaiGuy]

Your best chance is doing a suitcase importation.

The guys at Thai Customs are a greedy bunch that have no shame.

They have your things and will hold them hostage and run up storage fees untill you abandon the items or pay up their extortionist fees.

There is absoutley nobody to report this fraud.

[Upcountry]

We brought some heavy duty Todd step-down transformers to use 110 devices in 220 land here. Some items, like coffee grinders or food processors will run slower on the 50 cycle power but will otherwise work okay as long as they are not overused. Our units were designed for 110/60 electricity.

But I'd think that power tools would tend to burn out if they are not designed to work on 50 cycles. At best they'd run slower, which might mean they won't work well enough for your needs.

Electrical devices without moving parts tied to the cycles should work fine with a step-down transformer.

UC

Edited November 5, 2007 by Upcountry

[Pink Mist]

sorry to put a damper on your plans but you wont be working as an electrician in Thailand, so no tools necessary.

if you want to do some homers then suggest you buy your stuff locally, I am a sparky too and have a set of tools in my house in LOS for home use only.