Import Tax On Computer

[Adagio]

I want to buy an Apple computer. They have very tight restrictions on what they sell to whom, where and at what price. The price difference (I have checked out prices with various suppliers around Bangkok) between Thailand and the USA is $500! About 30%. I have a friend who could buy for me in the USA and ship it over.

I have two questions.

1. What would the import duty be on a computer costing $1,299?

2. Is there a (major) shipping company people can recommend to use or avoid?

Thank you.

[Crushdepth]

Suggest you try to get a friend to hand carry it for you - no charge. If you ship it you could be in for a real headache.

[dsys]

I want to buy an Apple computer. They have very tight restrictions on what they sell to whom, where and at what price. The price difference (I have checked out prices with various suppliers around Bangkok) between Thailand and the USA is $500! About 30%. I have a friend who could buy for me in the USA and ship it over.

I have two questions.

1. What would the import duty be on a computer costing $1,299?

2. Is there a (major) shipping company people can recommend to use or avoid?

Thank you.

I had a friend in the UK buy a laptop and giftwrap it, added a birthday card and ship it via DHL. No problems, door to door without issue.

Used the same method to buy an ipod touch, parcel was opened and I was "charged" 2000 baht in import tax.

I think its your donald.

As for the actual import tax if declared - dont know.

edit - of course crushdepth comes up with the simplest solution as usual That would be the best way to do it.

Edited February 29, 2008 by dsys

[Guest Reimar]

Probable you have to pay 1% Import Duty + 7% VAT. But it's possible that It will much more if the Custom like to charge for Software! Even if that is just Drivers and the OS which came with the computer.

I would suggest, if you let send the computer, they should send the Software (all CD's pp.) in an extra "Letter"!

Cheers.

[ThaiLife]

Just seen this in the Bangkok Database section....

GRAHAM K. ROGERS

Last weekend, I noticed that many Macs have undergone price cuts ranging from a couple of thousand baht to as much as 27,000 baht from mid-February prices. //edit to limit to first sentence or two of news report//

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Database/05Mar2008_data002.php

TL

[Wolfie]

Expect to pay approximately 40% import duty - it maybe less but doubtful.

(I've been subjected to 40% import duty before, on hardware imported)

Sometimes, its worth flying over to Singapore for the day, buy what you want to buy and then fly back... can still work out cheaper than the 40% tax.

If you use any of the major shipping companies (FedEx etc) they declare at customs and you get nabbed most of the time. For things like software i get a friend in the UK to get it for me, then repackage it and send it standard airmail, very seldom gets hit by customs.

I'm going to have to come up with a plan to get my hands on my new laptop at the end of the year, the retail price is 140,000b (its a high end, custom build Alienware machine!) and i am NOT paying 40% on top of that!

[Guest Reimar]

Expect to pay approximately 40% import duty - it maybe less but doubtful.

(I've been subjected to 40% import duty before, on hardware imported)

Sometimes, its worth flying over to Singapore for the day, buy what you want to buy and then fly back... can still work out cheaper than the 40% tax.

If you use any of the major shipping companies (FedEx etc) they declare at customs and you get nabbed most of the time. For things like software i get a friend in the UK to get it for me, then repackage it and send it standard airmail, very seldom gets hit by customs.

I'm going to have to come up with a plan to get my hands on my new laptop at the end of the year, the retail price is 140,000b (its a high end, custom build Alienware machine!) and i am NOT paying 40% on top of that!

You're wrong Wolfie!

The normal Import Duty for Computer is 1% + 7% VAT! 40% was a long time ago and after that was going down to 5% and now a few years 1%. I import on regular base and there is noting to worry about.

Cheers.

[Wolfie]

You're experiences are different to mine then. I've recently been charged 40% on importing hardware

[LivinLOS]

I too have been hit with 30% 'luxury goods' taxes + 7% sales taxes on item and shipping..

Its too hit and miss for me to bother with personally.. No way to change thier mind or appeal.. it becomes a face issue and its pay or lose it..

[Guest Reimar]

There is an easy way to find out. All shipping agants having an customs value book, just take a look at that, get the Duty/Value number and make your declaration.

Cheers.

[Wolfie]

Nice Idea Reimar, but in my experience, you get two choices, pay the tax they demand or loose the goods you have purchased.

The likes of DHL have the invoice attached to the package, then customs make up a figure you owe in tax and that's the end of it. No appeals, no arguments, no compromises.

Maybe i should get you to order all my goods from now onwards, as it seems you get a special rate from customs

[Veazer]

Nice Idea Reimar, but in my experience, you get two choices, pay the tax they demand or loose the goods you have purchased.

The likes of DHL have the invoice attached to the package, then customs make up a figure you owe in tax and that's the end of it. No appeals, no arguments, no compromises.

Maybe i should get you to order all my goods from now onwards, as it seems you get a special rate from customs

Same here, I tried to show printed pages from websites showing what the duty should be. Nobody cared. The fees just increased as I tried to reason with them. They know they have what you want and they're in control.

[LivinLOS]

I once paid about 8000 and something baht on 200 USD worth of goods !!! Wasnt PC stuff but RC equipment from the USA. Exactly the 'pay us or lose it' argument. No reasoning, no appeal, no discussion.

[jackspratt]

You're experiences are different to mine then. I've recently been charged 40% on importing hardware

Were you importing hardware, or a computer?

[naka]

Suggest you try to get a friend to hand carry it for you - no charge. If you ship it you could be in for a real headache.

Yup, that's the best bet.

Naka.

[Guest Reimar]

Nice Idea Reimar, but in my experience, you get two choices, pay the tax they demand or loose the goods you have purchased.

The likes of DHL have the invoice attached to the package, then customs make up a figure you owe in tax and that's the end of it. No appeals, no arguments, no compromises.

Maybe i should get you to order all my goods from now onwards, as it seems you get a special rate from customs

There is no problem to order via my company but I do charge for Service as well and that is what YOU do not want to pay because I charge high!!

In the past of more then 20 Years I importing on my own, I had seen a lot at the Customs office and there was a lot foreigner which was trying to "screw " the custom officer in many ways, like undervalued invoices, personell goods which was bought from abroad and send from the seller, complaint that the goods in question is for personal use only and a lot other stories. And believe it or not, most of the people are foreigner and most of he time unfriendly and impolite to the Thai Officials.

From my point of view and the experiences I had and what I've seen at Customs Offices, I do NOT believe most of that stories. If you think that the Thai Custom has handle your case unfairly, sit down to first and think about how you had handle your own case and present it to the officials! And keep in mind that you on an place were you want something even if you have to pay for it.

The cases I know which had to pay "to much", are cases of bad behavior of that humans who want to get something! I don't know it's true or not what you wrote here and what I wrote is not against you but is the result from experiences and what I've seen.

Cheers.

[pj123]

I would like to reopen this discussion as I have been doing some research on tariffs for the import of computer equipment. I checked the Customs Tariff page at http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp and it states that the tariff on personal computers, laptops and PDAs is 40% not 1%.

8471.30.10 - - Handheld computers including palmtops and personal digital assistants (PDAs) 40 - -

8471.30.20 - - Laptops including notebooks and subnotebooks 40 - -

8471.30.90 - - Other 40 - -

- Other automatic data processing machines:

8471.41 - - Comprising in the same housing at least a central processing unit and an input and output unit, whether or not combined:

8471.41.10 - - - Personal computers excluding portable computers of subheading 8471.30 40 - -

8471.41.90 - - - Other 40 - -

8471.49 - - Other, presented in the form of systems:

8471.49.10 - - - Personal computers excluding portable computers of subheading 8471.30 40 - -

8471.49.90 - - - Other 40 - -

8471.50 - Processing units other than those of subheadings 8471.41 or 8471.49, whether or not containing in the same housing one or two of the following types of unit : storage units, input units, output units :

8471.50.10 - - Processing units for personal ( including portable) computers 40 - -

8471.50.90 - - Other 40 - -

8471.60 - Input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing:

8471.60.30 - - Computer keyboards 40 - -

8471.60.40 - - X-Y coordinate input devices, including mouses, light pens, joysticks, track balls, and touch sensitive screens 40 - -

8471.60.50 - - Plotters 40 - -

8471.60.90 - - Other 40 - -

8471.70 - Storage units:

8471.70.10 - - Floppy disk drives 40 - -

8471.70.20 - - Hard disk drives 40 - -

8471.70.30 - - Tape drives 40 - -

8471.70.40 - - Optical disk drives, including CD-ROM drives, DVD drives and CD-R drives 40 - -

8471.70.50 - - Proprietary format storage devices including media therefor for automatic data processing machines, with or without removable media and whether magnetic, optical or other technology 40 - -

- - Other:

8471.70.91 - - - Backup management systems 40 - -

[h90]

There is an easy way to find out. All shipping agants having an customs value book, just take a look at that, get the Duty/Value number and make your declaration.

Cheers.

Reimar.....welcome to the real life.....I import the same goods twice a week and pay different tax every time.....

[pj123]

There is an easy way to find out. All shipping agants having an customs value book, just take a look at that, get the Duty/Value number and make your declaration.

Cheers.

Reimar.....welcome to the real life.....I import the same goods twice a week and pay different tax every time.....

h90, may I ask what you import?

[oMega69]

Isent there any Import tax free deals with Australia - Thailand ? . .

I was thinking of import a new video card to my pc. . . . . . .

[Guest Reimar]

Just one example:

84.71 8471.302000 - - แล็ปท็อป รวมถึงโน้ตบุกและซับโน้ตบุก Exempted ม.12 ฉ.01 (2550) 01/01/2007 thereafter

That's the import duty for Notebooks, Laptops, Handheld, Palmtops pp. and just mean: Import Durty FREE!

Take a look at the right Books and if you don't know where, got to the Customs House at Klong Toey or at Suvarnabhumi Airport and ask the C ustom Officer there.

Cheers.