Thai Airways soars with ‘plane’-tastic gourmet menus for all classes

[RedQualia]

My company in the USA needs to send a laptop computer to me in Thailand (their standard equipment, as opposed to my potentially non-standard equipment). I'm unsure of what to tell them to expect in the way of customs duties to be paid. The machine would remain their property, not mine, and it would have to be returned on completion of work. Does anyone have any experience with customs in such situations?

[Morden]

My company in the USA needs to send a laptop computer to me in Thailand (their standard equipment, as opposed to my potentially non-standard equipment). I'm unsure of what to tell them to expect in the way of customs duties to be paid. The machine would remain their property, not mine, and it would have to be returned on completion of work. Does anyone have any experience with customs in such situations?

Your company should use a shipping agent that, with its own agent in Thailand, can nurse it all the way to your door.

There are two things to now about Customs in Bangkok:

1. They will take duty of, probably, around 40% of the stated value of the goods.

2. They are the dirtiest, most corrupt crooks you'll ever deal with and will be looking for bribe opportunities.

The worst individuals seem to be at the airport.

Avoid collecting the laptop in person; they will really lay on the bribe and graft if you do and there will be little in the way of invoices to show your company. A proper agent will be able to minimise the palm greasing.

Some courier firms seem to go out of their way to employ thieves.

Make sure that your company in the US understands the drill and is prepared to pay at the LOS end.

Better than all this, can you persuade the company to drop the corporate policy rubbish just this once and let you buy in LOS to their spec?

Good luck!

[RedQualia]

My company in the USA needs to send a laptop computer to me in Thailand (their standard equipment, as opposed to my potentially non-standard equipment). I'm unsure of what to tell them to expect in the way of customs duties to be paid. The machine would remain their property, not mine, and it would have to be returned on completion of work. Does anyone have any experience with customs in such situations?

Your company should use a shipping agent that, with its own agent in Thailand, can nurse it all the way to your door.

There are two things to now about Customs in Bangkok:

1. They will take duty of, probably, around 40% of the stated value of the goods.

2. They are the dirtiest, most corrupt crooks you'll ever deal with and will be looking for bribe opportunities.

The worst individuals seem to be at the airport.

Avoid collecting the laptop in person; they will really lay on the bribe and graft if you do and there will be little in the way of invoices to show your company. A proper agent will be able to minimise the palm greasing.

Some courier firms seem to go out of their way to employ thieves.

Make sure that your company in the US understands the drill and is prepared to pay at the LOS end.

Better than all this, can you persuade the company to drop the corporate policy rubbish just this once and let you buy in LOS to their spec?

Good luck!

Have dealt with Thai customs before, and your reply is pretty much as expected (as I've experienced in the past). Can't understand why the King doesn't correct the matter. After all, Thailand is a Kingdom. What they do reflects badly on said Kingdom, and so on the King. No face for them to save in this case.

With regard to buying a computer in Thailand, it's a little more involved than that. It's not just the hardware. It's the set of development tools and VPN involved.

Thanks

[longball53098]

It might be cheaper for the company to pay for a round trip ticket for you. Pickup the PC and do some business at your home area. Then its all a business write off.

[mikethevigoman]

wont make a blind bit of difference who owns it and that its going back, this is how the thai customs work, once they see computer on the description they wil probably open it ,value it and charge up to local price, have it carried over by a friend if possible,.