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My Mail Got Taxed


ManOnTheRoad

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I recently purchased 2 bottle of men's cologne from ebay, the seller is based in the United States.

Price per bottle : $25 + Free DHL Shipping

I requested the seller to ship me DHL for the 1st bottle and USPS 1st Class Mail for the 2nd Bottle. Just wanting to try out the mail service as i was told by a friend that DHL or FEDex usually have something to do with Thai Customs for tax while Normal mail does not . So i tried.

1st Bottle

It turns out i got taxed by the customs + Handling Fees from DHL : total including tax and handling fees DHL : 401 Thai Baht

Arrival : 4 Days

2nd Bottle

And as for the Normal 1st Class USPS mail i did not need to pay any tax or Handling fee Thailand post send it to my doorstep with ease

Arrival 14 Days

Should i request to send Via normal 1st Class USPS next time ?

why is that i got taxed + Handing fees when using DHL ?

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DHL is a bugger. The tax is ridiculous and totally doesn't make sense.

My son was sent some shoes and although a low value had been put for customs, they had added in the cost of shipping into the value of the goods. It was clearly there to see on the form in their calculations. There's nothing you can do about it, you either pay or you don't get your goods. I would avoid them like the plague.

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DHL is a bugger. The tax is ridiculous and totally doesn't make sense.

My son was sent some shoes and although a low value had been put for customs, they had added in the cost of shipping into the value of the goods. It was clearly there to see on the form in their calculations. There's nothing you can do about it, you either pay or you don't get your goods. I would avoid them like the plague.

The shipping costs are liable to duty and taxes in Thailand so they were correct to show them. The system is virtually the same for most of Europe where duty is payable on shipping charges up to the EU border and taxes payable on all transport costs to final destination.

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I got taxed on my last ebay purchase it worked out something like 30%. I can't remember how it was sent though.

My wife has told me she's had to pay tax several times when picking packages up. Things my mum has sent as presents. If she's written a value on it.

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I have mailed many,many boxes to Nakhon Sawan from the U.S. I always use a old cardboard box and seal it with

masking tape. I always declare it as $30 worth of clothes, addressed in Thai. The cheapest shipping rate and no

insurance. USPS...never,ever a problem. 6-15 days. Right to the doorstep, unopened and never taxed.

The clothes are used to wrap around the good stuff. I think a fancy shipping box,with the highest shipping cost

and insurance might just raise some eyebrows. DHL,UPS,FEDEX...No way.

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I have mailed many,many boxes to Nakhon Sawan from the U.S. I always use a old cardboard box and seal it with

masking tape. I always declare it as $30 worth of clothes, addressed in Thai. The cheapest shipping rate and no

insurance. USPS...never,ever a problem. 6-15 days. Right to the doorstep, unopened and never taxed.

The clothes are used to wrap around the good stuff. I think a fancy shipping box,with the highest shipping cost

and insurance might just raise some eyebrows. DHL,UPS,FEDEX...No way.

Unfortunately if you use the British postal system and send anything unrecorded it quite often goes missing.

I was always amazed in the last years before moving out here how virtually every christmas card had been opened already.

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  • 1 month later...

Just got told by my wife that UPS is trying to charge her 608 baht for a package I sent from Europe !! Customs tax apparently..

When she asked how they calculate the charge, they couldn't tell her :) But not to contact customs, only talk with UPS about it... Mmmmmmm.

Value stated on package, 5 euro.. Weight 500g..

They told her it was because it was 5kg, when she pointed out that it was 0.5kg they told her it would be 230 baht..

Now I'm pretty sure customs doesn't tax by weight !!!!

Is this a blatant rip off ??? I did pay 52 euro for the privilege of going with UPS, would this cost figure anywhere into the 'taxing' of the package...

I'm not convinced but as it is our wedding albumn, I think she should pay it if they can produce a valid tax invoice from customs.. Does anyone have an example of a customs invoice they could maybe mail to me, would be interested to know what they look like :)

Thanks

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One more time...

?

The perpetual "DHL/FedEx/UPS/Thai Customs ripped me off" thread.

There's a difference between COURIER companies and the POSTAL services.

The OP (and all the others) should learn the differences, use them appropriately and stop whining.

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Just got told by my wife that UPS is trying to charge her 608 baht for a package I sent from Europe !! Customs tax apparently..

When she asked how they calculate the charge, they couldn't tell her smile.png But not to contact customs, only talk with UPS about it... Mmmmmmm.

Value stated on package, 5 euro.. Weight 500g..

They told her it was because it was 5kg, when she pointed out that it was 0.5kg they told her it would be 230 baht..

Now I'm pretty sure customs doesn't tax by weight !!!!

Is this a blatant rip off ??? I did pay 52 euro for the privilege of going with UPS, would this cost figure anywhere into the 'taxing' of the package...

I'm not convinced but as it is our wedding albumn, I think she should pay it if they can produce a valid tax invoice from customs.. Does anyone have an example of a customs invoice they could maybe mail to me, would be interested to know what they look like smile.png

Thanks

Technically Thai Customs do charge by weight to some extent as the duty/taxes are based on CIF landed value so part of the charge covers the courier costs which are weight related. How much freight charge is added on is a point that is disputable as it appears there is a scale applied which does not seems to be the same as the charges that are actually paid.

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It is not just DHL, the majority of the international transport brigade are in on this tax rip off! They probably split it 50/50 with the ever vigilant Thai customs.\

I received a few boxes of free T-shirts to give to a local school (They were from a friend in China) FEDEX/Thai customs wanted 17000 Baht duty - the declared value was 110 USD!

And they were going to be given away to the poorer kids where we live as a gift! SHITS!

Edited by billybobthedog
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On another thread is a user who has used FedEx for shipments from Amazon in USA via Shipito "many times," and only gets charged 7% VAT on the amount he declares. (If I understood the Shipito web site correctly, you complete the customs declaration yourself and forward it to them, so can declare the value you deem appropriate.)

Prior to his report, all I had read on various Thai discussion boards was that Fedex, UPS, DHL, etc *all* held up your shipment until customs duties were paid, and that additionally the 7% VAT was applied. Reports pretty much consistently report that shipping via post (e.g. USPS) avoids customs duties entirely, presumably by flying under the radar.

I assumed it was a pre-condition for the courier services to be able to conduct business in Thailand that their shipments are required to clear Thai Customs.

Several years ago I shipped a 20kg box of personal effects via FedEx, and was able to negotiate a waiver from Thai Customs for any duty, but I had to pay them a whopping B5,000 for a "warehousing" fee. No receipt issued for the B5,000. whistling.gif

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I think you shouldn't have been taxed if the value was less that $30. Sounds like a cock up by DHL.

"Value" and what you paid for it are not necessarily the same things to Customs -- whether in Thailand or anywhere else.

Always use the postal service where possible -- the chances of you getting charged are less (but not nil) regardless of whether the recipient is a Thai or foreigner.

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DHL is a bugger. The tax is ridiculous and totally doesn't make sense.

My son was sent some shoes and although a low value had been put for customs, they had added in the cost of shipping into the value of the goods. It was clearly there to see on the form in their calculations. There's nothing you can do about it, you either pay or you don't get your goods. I would avoid them like the plague.

I'm sorry, but please try to see the difference between tax and fee before posting anything related to the topic, will you!? DHL, Fedex, UPS etc. doesn't tax the goods, this is done by Thai authorities. What is that makes this so difficult to understand, I see a new topic each week where people whine and moan about this. Go ahead and buy a BMW 530 in Thailand and report back what you paid compared to Europe. IT'S TAX!!!!

In addition, please try to understand that tax is based on VALUE not some bullshit number made up to keep the tax down. You're really something, you even admit that you declared a low value in order to keep the tax down. Unbelievable.

And lastly, shipping is ALWAYS subject to tax, not only in Thailand, but in, for instance, every country in Europe.

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