Will They Charge Me?

[Noodles]

I've looked all over Thailand for a Canon mv6i but have had

no luck. So I have decided to buy one on the net from a british

company and have my mum ship it to me here.

My question is, what happens when it arrives in BKK. Will I have

to pay a tax or duty on it? And will they seize it until this is paid?

Thanks

Noodles

[Firefoxx]

Usually, yes. If you send it by normal air mail, it will be kept at some customs house and you will get a little notice to go pick it up and pay the tax+duties. If sent by courier (DHL, Fedex, etc), you will be contacted by the courier and have the choice of paying tax/duties through the courier or doing the customs process yourself. It doesn't matter if you label it "repaired", "broken", "gift", "$0 value", you will still have to pay the full value. Doesn't matter if it's used or new.

Of course, this being said, this is Thailand, and you may have a different experience.

Edited March 12, 2005 by Firefoxx

[Noodles]

Thanks for the reply...do you know how much the duty would be on a

399 pound sterling camcorder.

Thanks

[Firefoxx]

You're sure to have the 7% VAT tacked on, but I'm not sure what the import duty for camcorders is. I'm guessing another 6-10%.

[Ajarn]

Tell your mom to rebox it so it's not the original box showing.. Also, don't use door-to-door Airborne, DHL, et all. Best to use the airmail from your UK Post office to Thailand, then delivered to your home via the Thai PO, because it's your only shot at maybe avoiding customs inspection and charges, as well as the extra fees from DHL and others. Plus, if they do make you pay customs, they will include your mailing costs in the total figure they use to figure what you owe them. And, then there's VAT, of course

If the value is under 20,000 baht, you can pay any duty at the post office, which is a LOT easier than going to customs, where you are almost sure to get screwed with some kind of extra charges, in my experiences... Do a search for the Thai customs website, where you can find your category and the accompaning customs percentage..

Using DHL, et all, is quite expensive, but also quite safe. The Thai P.O is good, I think, but not as safe from theft, to be sure. I've never had any real problem, but others have, from what I've read in these forums...Certifying your mail should help a lot, but it's still no guarantee...

Good luck

[Noodles]

Thanks for your replies

[Firefoxx]

I've had a CDRW shipped to me, white box, nothing showing. Had to pay the customs at the local PO. Also had an ADSL modem sent, also white box, but this time I had to go to the central customs house near Hualumpong train station. The CDRW was new, the modem was used, one was labeled as gift, another as repaired, $0 value. Both came by normal air frieght, had to pay vat/customs for both. Couriers charge you extra to take care of customs procedures.

This is why most people recommend that, if at all possible, you should ask someone to bring it with them. Airport customs is a lot more lenient, and most times they don't search your bags at all.

Edited March 12, 2005 by Firefoxx

[Joey Boy]

a friend of mine recently had a mobile phone sent over from the UK using the UK post office, it was marked as a phone but just in bubble wrap and an envelope, they used the extra international insurance for up to £500. It got delivered str8 to his appartment, and he didnt have to pay a penny