LivinLOS Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Odd question.. Speaking to a friend of mine, he is returning to Europe where he has some substantial gold bars (kilos) in bank storage.. He doesnt intend to return to Europe again for a few years, less contacts over there.. He wishes to bring them to Thailand to keep them here. Can he just bring them in hand luggage ?? Obviously hes aware that presents a theft risk, but its one he would take.. But what we dont know is if he is able to bring them in with 'nothing to declare' and if he does declare them does he have any taxes or duty to them.. I could just imagine a customs officials face lighting up, being sent into one room, the bag being sent into another and turning up without the gold and no proof an hour later. I personally would wither sell and repurchase, use a service like BullionVault.com or even fly into Sing and come overland. Any thoughts ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Odd question.. Speaking to a friend of mine, he is returning to Europe where he has some substantial gold bars (kilos) in bank storage.. He doesnt intend to return to Europe again for a few years, less contacts over there.. He wishes to bring them to Thailand to keep them here. Can he just bring them in hand luggage ?? Obviously hes aware that presents a theft risk, but its one he would take.. But what we dont know is if he is able to bring them in with 'nothing to declare' and if he does declare them does he have any taxes or duty to them.. I could just imagine a customs officials face lighting up, being sent into one room, the bag being sent into another and turning up without the gold and no proof an hour later. I personally would wither sell and repurchase, use a service like BullionVault.com or even fly into Sing and come overland. Any thoughts ?? There are too many safe alternatives for him to want to take the riskiest! Put the gold into bullion storage, deposit in a bank for insured safe keeping, sell and re buy later, deposit in Singapore etc etc. Very foolish to bring it here I would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaoPo Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? The older the sillier they say.... It's a very risky trip to bring a few kilos of gold to Thailand if you're old. ANYTHING can happen on such a trip and if the customs take it away from him "to study the case" it will be gone... He might want to talk to and official transporter who do these things on a regular basis (gold, diamonds, cash etc.; he could start asking his bankers where the gold is stored) but I would want to know the legal issues like taxes first so have someone else (not himself) talk to Thai tax authorities before the transport takes place. LaoPo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 (edited) Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? Why wouldnt he just go swap them into coins? kruggerands or maples would work well. He might take a small loss in the change over but it would be small compared to the risk he is contemplating. Edited January 3, 2009 by flying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaoPo Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? Why wouldnt he just go swap them into coins? kruggerands or maples would work well. He might take a small loss in the change over but it would be small compared to the risk he is contemplating. If the chap is so eager about gold as such he better sell it to the -present bank, where it is- ....take a bit of a loss and buy gold back in LOS or move the cash to Thailand and bury it in the garden as he wished for... LaoPo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 All your advices fit with what I have told him already... Yet still dont answer the question. Thanks tho. Logically I have to assume as gold sells here at market rates (without taxation) then how would it have an import duty ?? That would have to be reflected in the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 It's a very risky trip to bring a few kilos of gold to Thailand if you're old. ANYTHING can happen on such a trip and if the customs take it away from him "to study the case" it will be gone... Something that I thought not that unlikely given this country. He might want to talk to and official transporter who do these things on a regular basis (gold, diamonds, cash etc.; he could start asking his bankers where the gold is stored) Thats the best way to achieve what he wants to do.. Yet I dont know of anyone (company etc) that handles this.. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? Why wouldnt he just go swap them into coins? kruggerands or maples would work well. He might take a small loss in the change over but it would be small compared to the risk he is contemplating. But he would still be left with the same problem.. Coins elsewhere in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWMcMurray Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Restricted exports There are restrictions on the export of archaeological items or historical artefacts without a certificate of authorisation from the Department of Fine Arts in Thailand. The export of images or figures of the Buddha and other religious artefacts is also subject to this ruling. Prohibited items Drug smuggling, trafficking or consumption carries the death penalty in Thailand. In addition, non-prescribed drugs and all firearms and ammunition are illegal. Gold must be declared on arrival and can be left at the airport of entry to be retrieved on departure. Gold Bullion is a restricted item and an import license must be granted by the Thai Government. There are currently only a few companies that are authorized to import gold bullion into Thailand Legally. If he wanted to bring in Gold, he should contact a freight forwarder to try and coordinate to bring it in Legally. The better way would be to sell the gold... get to Thailand... Repurchase gold and then do as he earlier planned. The hassel to bring it in Legally will most likley not be worth it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12DrinkMore Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Gold must be declared on arrival and can be left at the airport of entry to be retrieved on departure. There you go, problem solved. Use the free(?) storage facilities at the airport to keep it nice and safe..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? Why wouldnt he just go swap them into coins? kruggerands or maples would work well. He might take a small loss in the change over but it would be small compared to the risk he is contemplating. But he would still be left with the same problem.. Coins elsewhere in the world. Coin bullion, such as Canadian Maples, have a "face value", and are legal tender. Hence, they can not be taxed when brought into another country. Its like they can not charge you tax on some Singapore dollars that you might have on you, same thing. I can confirm that it is not an issue to travel with bullion coins on your carry on, security only wants to see that they are coins, thats it. Yes but even if they have a face value.. Theres a currency restriction amount that your limited to no ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Restricted exports There are restrictions on the export of archaeological items or historical artefacts without a certificate of authorisation from the Department of Fine Arts in Thailand. The export of images or figures of the Buddha and other religious artefacts is also subject to this ruling. Prohibited items Drug smuggling, trafficking or consumption carries the death penalty in Thailand. In addition, non-prescribed drugs and all firearms and ammunition are illegal. Gold must be declared on arrival and can be left at the airport of entry to be retrieved on departure. Gold Bullion is a restricted item and an import license must be granted by the Thai Government. There are currently only a few companies that are authorized to import gold bullion into Thailand Legally. If he wanted to bring in Gold, he should contact a freight forwarder to try and coordinate to bring it in Legally. The better way would be to sell the gold... get to Thailand... Repurchase gold and then do as he earlier planned. The hassel to bring it in Legally will most likley not be worth it Thanks thats probably the clearest answer yet.. Without a license, or a courier that has such a license.. Its a massive risk. Thats the kind of firm answer I was after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 His issue is in relation to KG's not Oz's.. But thanks anyway.. Hopefully this info will be enough to discourage him from attempting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Replogle Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Gold must be declared on arrival and can be left at the airport of entry to be retrieved on departure. Gold must be declared. "Must" gold be left at the airport, or "can" it be left at the airport? What if the departure Airport differs from the one where the gold was left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongJohn Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 (edited) Hi, I have read the entire thread and searched extensively on the net but it is still not very clear to me. I will be moving to Thailand permanently and start a business. I have quite some savings in gold coins and want to bring them into Thailand. I even emailed Thai customs but got no reply. Is there anybody who knows the real rules and risks? Is gold/gold coins treated as any other foreign currency by customs? Foreign currency import: unlimited. However, amounts of foreign currency exceeding USD 20,000.- (or equivalent) must be declared to a Customs Officer upon arrival by all travellers. EXPORT:same rules as import. So basically if you enter the country with 2 people and you carry 38000,- USD worth of gold you do not have to declare? And if you want to bring more in you just have to declare it and that's it? I am considering bringing some gold coins undeclared in a big wallet and just put it with all other metal items in tray that goes through the scanner. Does the scanner just detect a metal or does it indicate that it is gold. How likely is it that if you declare gold or if they find your gold some or all disappears? Edited February 8, 2009 by LongJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimsKnight Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 (edited) Hes an old guy.. Has no ties left in the west.. And I get the impression its to be buried on his property for his young wifes inheritance.. I personally wouldnt go that route but he wants to have it here. So the question is.. How can he get it here ?? What is the duty (gold doesnt seem to have sales tax) ?? He's probably quite wise the way the west is collapsing right now He can get it here, it's just whether customs will check his bags and find the gold. A possible way around this. Fly into an ADJACENT country, hopefully one without the hostile gold import bs and transit the stuff through via land-border crossing. Less chance of being shaken down at land-crossings. And as the unlinked text says, it only says it's illegal to bring into Thailand, BUT at a land crossing there's no facility to hold onto gold. In which case return to the adjacent country and try again another day Edited February 8, 2009 by JimsKnight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vato Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 shape the bar into a walking cane , and walk right through customs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colibra Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I just returned to LOS from Hawaii and brought about 2lbs of silver with me. I had no problem upon arrival but going through security at the airports with it in my carry ons was a bit of a hassle. I got pulled out of line ever time. gold and silver are so dense that when they see them on there screens they kind of freak out. I have never been searched or had my bags opened on arrival in Thailand. I always make sure I go through customs in Bangkok as I have heard horror stories about other entry points by air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Considerable difference in carrying something worth a few 100 to a few 1000 USD to something thats in the 100's of 1000's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customcurb Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 interesting as I was not aware importing personal gold was illegal. What about 96% pure gold jewelry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun Jean Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 (edited) I would sell the gold, put the money in a bank account, travel to Thailand, take out the money and buy local 96% gold 1 baht or 5 baht blocks that have a low spread of only 100 baht. This will give more security for the 'thai' because it is easily changed into cash. 99.99% Bullion is a lot more difficult and can even get a lower price here because it is not that common. Edited December 9, 2010 by Khun Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old wanderer Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) All your advices fit with what I have told him already... Yet still dont answer the question. Thanks tho. Logically I have to assume as gold sells here at market rates (without taxation) then how would it have an import duty ?? That would have to be reflected in the price. I have bought gold bars in China town without problem. They stamp the weight in baht not oz, so 2 baht = ~1oz. Easy to get 10 baht bars or larger. Edited December 17, 2010 by old wanderer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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