Customs Duties On Personal Effects

[Andrew772]

Hello All I'm a newbie here so I hope someone can help me.I will be arriving to live in Thailand from early June,

first under a non immigrant B visa,then changing to a retirement visa.The required 800,000THB will have been in place

for three months at end June.

My advice from the Royal Thai Embassy in Rome(I'm English but presently live in Italy) and my immigration consultant

is that my personal effects can be imported duty free once my retirement visa is in place. "Not so",says the Bangkok agent

of my shipping company,adding that "The Thai foreign Embassies always say that." According to the Bangkok agent I will have to pay

20% import duty plus 7 % VAT on my personal effects unless I have a)diplomatic status or b)work permit.

Can somebody advise me what is correct please ?

Also,I am considering whether it is best to have my UK pension annuity sent to my Thai bank account or maintained to my UK bank account.

Could someone please advise me of the present Thai tax rate on overseas pension payments ?

Sorry to start with two questions on my first visit but I would greatly welcome some help.

Many thanks in advance.

Andrew

[brd]

shipping agent is the one negotiating if no working permit, for personal effects, with Thai customs for you but based on valuation so..........

I would advise you to still UK as a recipient and from UK to pay Thai bank account for what ever you need over a month.

Nice to figure out an exit in case however bangkok bank is an excellent commercial bank by all means. Cheers

[lothda]

The shipping agent is correct. The Non-Immigrant O-A ("Retirement") visa does not allow you to import your personal effects duty-free. In my case an estimate was made, a list of more valuable items was hand-written in my passport, including items I didn't bring (e.g. TV) Obviously they didn't even bother to look at the inventory list - they just wanted to collect a lump sum, maybe based on the volume of the shipment. And that's what they did.

[Prajak]

Eight years ago I moved into Thailand (from The Netherlands) with a non im O visa in my passport. A big box with my stuff came by seafreight to a Thai harbor. The box was 2 by 2 by 1 meter. Everything arranged for by a Dutch removal company; they had a broker in BKK.

I had to come to BKK to the broker and join him to customs and I paid 2,0000 thai baht for "VAT and tea money", that's all. The box was deliverd to my place in Thailand, free of any charges (but those charges I allready paid to my Dutch removal company).

I did not pay any other taxes since there is/was an exemption for movables when you move into Thailand. By the way, the EU has this kind of exemption too.

[Prajak]

About your UK pension. When there is a tax treaty between UK (or Italy) and TH read that first. There might be a difference in taxation rules between government pensions and company pensions/life annuities. Pensions are in principle taxable in Thailand.

[hhgz]

Six years ago, I brought in about 4cu/m of stuff and, to prevent paying duty/VAT, all I had to do was to show that the goods were more than 6 months old.

I didn't pay any bribes, taxes, or duties.

[phetaroi]

The shipping agent is correct. The Non-Immigrant O-A ("Retirement") visa does not allow you to import your personal effects duty-free. In my case an estimate was made, a list of more valuable items was hand-written in my passport, including items I didn't bring (e.g. TV) Obviously they didn't even bother to look at the inventory list - they just wanted to collect a lump sum, maybe based on the volume of the shipment. And that's what they did.

Or not. Last May I moved here and my retirement extension was approved in August. Duty free shipment of personal belongings. Period. No money under the table. As my shipping company in the States and the receiving company here (Asian Tigers) said it would be.

[Langsuan Man]

Those who are reporting that they did not have to pay duty you just got lucky

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/House...old#requirement

# Note : Nonresidents entering into the Kingdom with a non-immigrant visa "code O" who wish to retire in Thailand or accompany spouses of Thai residents are not qualified for (1) Thai Residents: Thai residents may import the secondhand/used household effects acquired abroad duty-free if such household effects are accompanied them in the change of residence and they are qualified under the criteria listed below:

1. Thai residents or government officials work or carry out a working visit abroad for at least one year. In case where the Thai residents/government officials must return to Thailand before one year, evidence showing that the return is caused by the termination of contracts, reshuffle of positions, or early termination of working visits, is required.

2. Thai residents working abroad under other reasons than those indicated in (1) are required to undertake a commitment that they shall return to Thailand to resume residence.

3. Thai students, government officials study abroad for at least one year.

[Pib]

Yeap, above is the rule/law, but some folks do seem to get their stuff into Thailand with no to minimum customs/duties. About 16 months ago the wife and I were able to ship in approx 20 boxes (each about a meter square) of household items/clothes/pictures/nicknacks/ memories/etc., with total weight around 1200 lbs. We did ship under the Thai wife name and had to personnally visit the Thai customs department and fill out some forms, show the wife's Thai passport, etc., to get the stuff released to us. The shipment receiving agent on this end went with us. When the dust settled we paid 3,000 baht as a customary duties fee (this fee was on the receiving agents bill to us) and this fee was paid to the shipment receiving agent; whether they paid this to Thai customs I don't know and don't really care.

But my recommendation is to ship as little as possible. I know it hard to leave certain stuff behind, but with the exception of your pictures/memories/heirlooms/etc., you can buy new stuff here in Thailand...and you'll probably come out ahead money-wise in just buying new stuff compared to paying shipping costs/customs/duties for your old stuff. If the wife and I had it to do over, I'm sure we would only ship a third of what we originally shipped. Also, maintain your home country bank accounts.

[Eff1n2ret]

The OP hasn't mentioned travelling with a Thai wife, so he probably doesn't qualify for duty-free importation. Thus the recommendation in your second paragraph may have more validity as it may well be worth considering buying new in Thailand rather than importing. Personally I regret not sending more than we actually did (under my wife's name). Our "fees" to get the stuff released were about 5000baht, including 2500baht "duty", plus an "inspection fee", admin, and port storage over a weekend. I felt we were stitched up between the agents and customs, but given the amount involved I couldn't be Rsed to argue and preferred to pay up and get it released quickly.

[12DrinkMore]

But my recommendation is to ship as little as possible.

Good advice.

I know it hard to leave certain stuff behind, but with the exception of your pictures/memories/heirlooms/etc.

Dump all that lot on your kids.

You are off to start a new life, don't bring the old baggage with you.

And, if you can't bring yourself to part with all the accumulated stuff, make an inventory, box it all and dump it in the kids' attics. Pack one suitcase as if you were coming on holiday and bring that.

Give it two years and see how much of the stuff you desperately miss. Get the kids to chuck out the rest.

Give it another two years and see how much of the remaining stuff you desperately miss. Get the kids to chuck out the rest.

Repeat until everything has been given or chucked away.

[Foggy Bottom]

For photos/pictures etc - just bring the pictures and negatives with you when you travel and give away / sell / ditch the albums frames etc - you'll find that framing is very cheap in Thailand and that there are fabulous hand made albums available. The space / weight / taxes you save on shipping compared to the cost of replacing them is probably on a par.

Books etc you might not be able to replace here (on a same title basis) and the tip is to separate them into "tools of the trade" and personal effects. With a work permit, you'll be able to bring in the "tools of the trade" duty free.

Furniture etc I wouldn't bring here - not even antique family heirlooms - the weather and the bugs (2 , 6, 8 or more legs) will take possession and eat them - give items like that to the kids or siblings who appreciate the value and history of them.

Clothes - Unless you have special medical needs for certain clothing types, don't ship them, just suitcase them and carry them - anything above that, give away or sell.

Households, there really is very little you would need to bring as almost everything is available here - especially in kitchen and lounge electricals - the only exception is cutlery ... dunno about Bangkok but up-country it's nigh on impossible to get dining cutlery sets at reasonable prices (and in full sets - especially things like main course knives (steak knives are much more common and cheap). Specialty cutlery like fish course or dessert spoons and forks - forget it unless your surname is Onassis.

Unless you've got a museum piece or and absolute top status one, don't even think about trying to import a vehicle, they'll bankrupt you on bloated duties at the assessed "new" value of the vehicle.

Apart from a notebook/laptop, or the hard drives containing the data (also bring back-ups on non-crashable DVDs), don't bring computers - too heavy & bulky and good pricing available here for new ones). There are exceptions to this of course, but they are really special cases, rather than average situations.

Hope it helps

Foggy

[bwalker1973]

Its best to ship it were it lands on a sunday, for some reason I never seem to pay tax or duty if any of my packages arrive on a sunday by DHL. I get 25kilo Packages every week. Do my shopping abroad, well and truly cheaper than shopping in Thailand. Save upto 65% on 99% of products. But if it lands on a weekday, the package gets delayed for an extra 2-5 days for custom clearance and a fee.

FedEx & UPS are well know for taxing with the customs and are very slow with customs, DHL are very fast, and if does get stopped, usually they clear within 24 hours.

Edited March 14, 2010 by bwalker1973

[tombkk]

Yeap, above is the rule/law, but some folks do seem to get their stuff into Thailand with no to minimum customs/duties. About 16 months ago the wife and I were able to ship in approx 20 boxes (each about a meter square) of household items/clothes/pictures/nicknacks/ memories/etc., with total weight around 1200 lbs. We did ship under the Thai wife name and had to personnally visit the Thai customs department and fill out some forms, show the wife's Thai passport, etc., to get the stuff released to us. The shipment receiving agent on this end went with us. When the dust settled we paid 3,000 baht as a customary duties fee (this fee was on the receiving agents bill to us) and this fee was paid to the shipment receiving agent; whether they paid this to Thai customs I don't know and don't really care.

But my recommendation is to ship as little as possible. I know it hard to leave certain stuff behind, but with the exception of your pictures/memories/heirlooms/etc., you can buy new stuff here in Thailand...and you'll probably come out ahead money-wise in just buying new stuff compared to paying shipping costs/customs/duties for your old stuff. If the wife and I had it to do over, I'm sure we would only ship a third of what we originally shipped. Also, maintain your home country bank accounts.

It is correct that you can import one shipment of personal effects free of import duties (exception are made for consumables and luxury items) as removal goods as a foreigner, if you have a work permit.

Furthermore, I is correct that returning Thai citizens can import one shipment of removal goods if they have stayed in one foreign country for at least 12 (or was it 18?) months and can prove that with their passport or some official letter.

If you get shipments of personal effects imported without import duties under other circumstances, this is another story. Anyway, I agree that there is no need to bring old ballast to Thailand if you want to move here permanently. Different stories apply for diplomats (no import duties) or other folks who need to move every 3-5 years.

[12DrinkMore]

For photos/pictures etc - just bring the pictures and negatives with you when you travel and give away / sell / ditch the albums frames etc -

Scan and bring them in on a USB stick.

Cut down the clutter.

[Pib]

When it comes to bringing pictures (i.e., framed wall pictures, desktop/framed pictures, album pictures, etc) I know it's tough to leave them behind simply because they are the original pictures, may have notes written on the back, they have memories attached, etc. We brought all of our pictures "minus" the wall pictures that were unimportant to us/not in nice frames. We still brought quite a few wall pictures that the Thai wife and I picked up in Thailand or the U.S. years ago, and as far as I'm concerned, can't be replaced. Just be sure the pictures truly hold a special meaning to you.

But with above being said, I still stand behind my above post recommendation of bringing as little as possible.

[12DrinkMore]

Once you have experienced first hand the results of a major disaster, in my case the 2004 tsunami, what is important and what is trivial bullshit takes on a new meaning.

Plan for the future, spend money on new experiences and not in reliving the past. Get rid of the material clutter that reminds you of the past, you have been there, done that, you'll never go there again. Do something new. Today.

Just my opinion.

(Yeah, I've had a few today, but I am fed up with boring old farts reliving the past. Stay young and interesting by doing something new, take pleasure in today. Don't be an old fart)

[phetaroi]

...

Clothes - Unless you have special medical needs for certain clothing types, don't ship them, just suitcase them and carry them - anything above that, give away or sell.

Households, there really is very little you would need to bring as almost everything is available here...the only exception is cutlery ... dunno about Bangkok but up-country it's nigh on impossible to get dining cutlery sets at reasonable prices (and in full sets - especially things like main course knives (steak knives are much more common and cheap). Specialty cutlery like fish course or dessert spoons and forks - forget it unless your surname is Onassis.

...

Apart from a notebook/laptop, or the hard drives containing the data (also bring back-ups on non-crashable DVDs), don't bring computers - too heavy & bulky and good pricing available here for new ones). There are exceptions to this of course, but they are really special cases, rather than average situations.

Some of your points are valid, others -- in my opinion -- not. Since I was sending a small shipment anyway, I sorted through my clothes and brought all that was suitable and in good condition. I'll not have to buy pants for at least 3 years, or shirts for almost 5. Clothes are relatively light, it was a minor cost to ship since my "half container" would have been partly empty otherwise.

On the other hand, while I didn't ship anything in terms of kitchenware, I had no problem finding anything here, including cutlery. The variety was much smaller than you would find back home, but I found all that I needed and at a reasonable (yes, a tad more expensive) price.

While I don't advocate bringing computers or computer equipment, such things are hardly "good pricing" here. Definitely more expensive than in the States.

[phetaroi]

Once you have experienced first hand the results of a major disaster, in my case the 2004 tsunami, what is important and what is trivial bullshit takes on a new meaning.

Plan for the future, spend money on new experiences and not in reliving the past. Get rid of the material clutter that reminds you of the past, you have been there, done that, you'll never go there again. Do something new. Today.

Just my opinion.

(Yeah, I've had a few today, but I am fed up with boring old farts reliving the past. Stay young and interesting by doing something new, take pleasure in today. Don't be an old fart)

That's the trouble with people who drink so much (as this post and your screen name seem to indicate) is that one looses a respect for others. There's no need to be insulting ("I am fed up with boring old farts"). And you ought to maintain a perspective that allows other people to think differently than you do.

Anyone coming here that is going to ship anything ought to get details from the shipping company FIRST and then plan. Shipping by sea, which I did, is not about weight in most cases, it's about the size of the container. I can't remember what fraction of a whole container I had. I sold or tossed 80% or more of my belongings and shipped the remainder. The only problem was that whatever that percentage of a container I had was partly empty when shipped, meaning I partially paid for air. A good shipper can tell you almost to the small cardboard box how much will fit into a container of whatever size just by doing a look-see-inventory.

[jfchandler]

I think a lot depends on what shipping company you connect with in your place of origin.

If you live in an area where Thais are doing business in shipping to Thailand (such as Los Angeles or San Francisco in the U.S.), that can have definite advantages.... But I can't speak to that situation in Europe or Italy....

As mentioned, having a work permit gets you a pass.... but just a retirement or business visa does not. But try to think of the situation the way Thais would, as in, wanting to spend the least amount of money possible.

If a shipment involving a work permit is the way to go, and you don't have your own work permit, what would the likely alternative be???

[Canada]

a desktop computer and flat monitor in a trunk that is slightly oversize.....how do you think I will make out? Flying into Chiang Mai. Non O visa. Thanks

[Crossy]

a desktop computer and flat monitor in a trunk that is slightly oversize.....how do you think I will make out? Flying into Chiang Mai. Non O visa. Thanks

Ditch the computer case and PSU (new ones are cheap and readily available here), just bring the boards and drives along with the monitor. Suddenly it's not oversize

[jfchandler]

In eight years of traveling between the U.S. and Thailand via air, I've never had Thai customs open any of my luggage....and only once had them run the bags thru their xray machine at the BKK airport.

In doing so, I've used all varieties of suitcases and larger rigid plastic boxes like the kind you get at Home Depot type stores.

I do think it's true that if the total quantity of your baggage or the external appearance is particularly unusual, it would increase the odds of a check upon arrival.

But in general, the odds seem to be pretty low.

[Monokuro]

I was worried about this last week - I wanted to bring my speaker system across from Taiwan. They were fully active ones, 20kg and massive in their original box.

The only panic I got was when I got to the green channel and was asked to put them through the x-ray, but they went through fine...

[jfchandler]

I can't say I've found DHL to be any better than Fed-Ex or UPS in terms of their handling of, and charging of, customs duties.

I had a particularly bad experience with them recently on a shipment from the U.S., where they originally mistakenly priced my shipment based on the weight in pounds from my U.S. shipper, and then used that same number but in kilos to assess the weight here for customs purposes...

I did gather from the process that if the value of your total shipment remains under 1,000 baht that it's got better odds of making it thru without being hit by some extortionate duty...

When all was said and done, I ended up paying a customs/duty bill here of about 2,200 baht ($67) here on a shipment valued at $55 U.S., plus the separate cost for shipping via DHL.

That duty price was because, even though the box included other things, DHL and/or customs dutied the entire value at the highest rate, which was 60% relating to some clothing items, even though other items in the box had far lower duty rates. They didn't want to assess them individually.

They charged the duty against not just the value of the contents but also against a calculated formula-based cost of the shipping, then added 7% VAT, then added a 200 baht duty handling fee and then 7% VAT on that.

But even if it weren't for all that, regarding the suggestion below, I'm not sure how anyone would arrange to ensure that a DHL shipment from outside Thailand would be delivered here on a Sunday. I wasn't aware DHL delivered in Thailand on Sundays. And I've never heard of any kind of break being given on duties in that kind of situation.

Its best to ship it were it lands on a sunday, for some reason I never seem to pay tax or duty if any of my packages arrive on a sunday by DHL. I get 25kilo Packages every week. Do my shopping abroad, well and truly cheaper than shopping in Thailand. Save upto 65% on 99% of products. But if it lands on a weekday, the package gets delayed for an extra 2-5 days for custom clearance and a fee.

FedEx & UPS are well know for taxing with the customs and are very slow with customs, DHL are very fast, and if does get stopped, usually they clear within 24 hours.