Im going to China in march and i want to bring back a cash register for my friends bar, I was told that China has a free trade agreement with Thailand, so would i have any duties to pay ?.

Last year i went there and came back with a laser disco light for my friends bar and customs charged me 3500 baht for it.

The light didn't even cost that much, I was pulled over and searched and the customs guy told me to pay him. I refused so he took me to higher ranking customs officer and he insisted that i pay him right in front of the airport cameras, put it in his pocket and told me to go away,

When i asked him for a receipt he got very nasty with me. So i thought it was best to leave it.

I think you will be liable to pay import duty and tax on the cash register. If you were moving here as a non-thai resident and had a work permit then you could qualify for importing your personal and/or household effects free of duty/tax but that unfortunately is not the case. I would buy the machine here and save myself the hassle.

YOU REALLY SHOULD HAVE INSISTED ON AN OFFICIAL RECEIPT FROM THAT JOKER....

next time, walk out of custom and call the crime suppression unit, before leaving the airport.... to show that sucker you know a thing or two about whom he should not be messing around with.... he already committed a crime when he refused to issue you an official receipt for your money....

if you remember his name, you still can pursue and press the issue.

then, why would anyone want to buy from china?

when most of what a person needs, from china, can be easily found around puntip, pratunum et al.

Edited February 3, 201016 yr by nakachalet

If you are carrying dutiable items you're supposed to exit through the red channel and declare it. Obviously a tourist doesn't carry a cash register in his luggage for personal use.

If you go through the green channel without declaring dutiable goods and get caught then "showing that sucker you know a thing or two about whom he should not be messing around with" as a previous poster suggests would be ill advised.

Orion76 is spot on! If you bring it in through the green channel and they find it you must pay not only the duties but also a fine.

they are so dam_n cheap here why bother???? You can buy them at Makro stores. Then again, you may save 100 baht.