Help! How Do You Solve Irrational Customs Duty Charges

[CWMcMurray]

Tall guy...

There are actually many who understand what happens when you pay import duty... It is paid to Thai customs and Thai customs issues a formal receipt confirming the exact amount of import duty paid

You can then check the receipt to confirm the same

The customs broker or DHL fill out the import entry. You can always ask them to see the import entry and to ask about the HS code they are using and if they are using the wrong tariff code, you can negotiate with them on this to ensure the correct tariff code is used.

If they refuse to use the correct tariff code, you can ask them to turn over to your nominated customs broker

[Pib]

I expect courier companies which let's say follow the letter of the law in collecting import taxes makes it easier and faster to get things processed through customs and delivered quicker. In a way they are doing the inspection of arriving goods versus customs folks and doing most of the customs collection paperwork. End result: plenty of import tax money into the customs dept coffers. But for items shipped through the postal system I expect customs is more involved which probably results in less items being actually inspected/opened due to the huge amount entering the country to accurately determine the import tax. I know I will never used DHL again...I used them once for an auto accessory item ordered/shipped from Germany and got hit with a very healthy import tax; whereas, items I have had shipped through the normal postal system have had much less to no import tax applied. Just my experience so far in shipping items to Thailand...I have no doubt others have had other experiences.

[robblok]

Thb 1000 is not an unreasonable amount for any broker to handle formal customs clearance, but if you think to high you are fee to tell DHL that you do not want them to clear and to hand over to your nominated customs broker

Or you can pick up the d/o from DHL and go down to the customs building to clear on your own...

I am sure after doing it once you will think that 1000 thb is well worth it.

Fact is if it goes through normal post you pay a lot less for clearing. Normally if you are hit at all its almost only tax. So no its not reasonable.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect App

[CWMcMurray]

Thai post is a gov agency not a customs broker. Their salaries are paid by Thai gov with tax dollars and also the customs regulations are not the same as if goods come via courier mode which again is different than the customs regulations if goods are coming via freight mode.

If coming via DHL or freight and you chose to use DHL or a third party customs broker, of course they will charge a fee, customs brokers do not work for free. If they did, they would be going out of business very shortly, as their employees salaries are not paid by the government.

They charge a service fee to clear customs for you and advised above you do not need to use their services if you do not want to.

No need to complain about it, just tell them you want to clear on your own. Pick up the delivery order from them and then head to customs building and clear on your own

Although I would guess after spending the taxi charges to and from the airport and spending your day in the customs office, you will likely be happy to pay some one else 1000 thb to do this for you in the future

[robblok]

Thai post is a gov agency not a customs broker. Their salaries are paid by Thai gov with tax dollars and also the customs regulations are not the same as if goods come via courier mode which again is different than the customs regulations if goods are coming via freight mode.

If coming via DHL or freight and you chose to use DHL or a third party customs broker, of course they will charge a fee, customs brokers do not work for free. If they did, they would be going out of business very shortly, as their employees salaries are not paid by the government.

They charge a service fee to clear customs for you and advised above you do not need to use their services if you do not want to.

No need to complain about it, just tell them you want to clear on your own. Pick up the delivery order from them and then head to customs building and clear on your own

Although I would guess after spending the taxi charges to and from the airport and spending your day in the customs office, you will likely be happy to pay some one else 1000 thb to do this for you in the future

I been there and before i put in a person who cleared for me. So yes its worth the 1000 bt. But Thai post does it cheaper so its possible. I did not choose for Fed Ex the seller upgraded me, i went for normal post and will always do that in future. May the likes of fed ex slowly go broke.

But im no fool, its worth the 1000 baht to doing it yourself the complex is huge, i bought a rowing machine in the USA and had a 3rd party clear it for me. It would have been more expensive with Fed Ex. When i went to pick it up i saw how huge it was there. No way that im going to spend a day there just to save 1000 bt. But i will insist next time that the seller does not upgrade me again.

But can you back up your statements that Thai post is doing the clearing below cost price, you state something, you prove it.

[isawasnake]

So, if you were to concisely answer the op's question, something like:

-use EMS or USPS for US based items

-have people bring you items from overseas if possible; bring items yourself when possible

Anything to add?

[robblok]

@CWMCMurray

Also, going for a cheaper option is quite normal, it does not mean you have to do it yourself. I am an accountant and have had plenty of clients dumping their expensive accountant and going for my services as they are the same but cheaper. Cheaper does not mean i do it below cost price it does mean the other guy is expensive maybe even ripping his clients off.

Anyway, they even wanted to send my stuff to the Thai FDA (thus increasing what they could charge for storage and other stuff). I then pointed out that id lodge a complaint because it was not more then a months supply and that if taken out of the cool pack it might spoil and i would lodge a complaint at the head office they backed down. So rules are obvious there to bend at times even by them.

Remember where you are your in Thailand, even Western companies fall prey to corruption here. Does not mean its rampart, but you can't say it does not happen.

[robblok]

So, if you were to concisely answer the op's question, something like:

-use EMS or USPS for US based items

-have people bring you items from overseas if possible; bring items yourself when possible

Anything to add?

Nope that is exactly that, but till threads have a way to go to other ways too.

[schoolies]

Ordered some small drill bits and screw driver heads from UK. Tried normal small air packet Royal Mail. This has avoided any import tax in the past. However they got lost in the post.

Had to re purchase all items and post with DHL then got hit with tax bill. It's a personal choice. If you fancy a gamble try normal post - no tax usually. If you actually want the items then use DHL and the like and pay the 37% tax charge plus handling fee (200 baht)

[schoolies]

Ordered some small drill bits and screw driver heads from UK. Tried normal small air packet Royal Mail. This has avoided any import tax in the past. However they got lost in the post.

Had to re purchase all items and post with DHL then got hit with tax bill. It's a personal choice. If you fancy a gamble try normal post - no tax usually. If you actually want the items then use DHL and the like and pay the 37% tax charge plus handling fee (200 baht)

[liddelljohn]

FEDEX in USA told me years ago not to use them to send anything to THAILAND as I would get ripped off royally by Their Thai staff, agents and Thai bureaucrats , I was running a business here at the time and sending up to 1m bahts worth of stuff monthly intoThailand , we were told to use a Seafreight shipper which took longer but ultimately saved us massivley over the next 4 years and was much easier to sort out witha good Thai insider here . FEDEX told me to use POST EMS for small urgent items

[cusanus]

Ok, on the matter of "fat burners," I believe you mean supplements of the diet type. The "fat burners" could contain ephedra or ephedrine, from which can be made yaba I believe, and is used to make meth in the states, I think. Or can be, but ephedra herb hasn't be legal in the US for several years. Ya ba is a big big no no in Thailand, and I suspect ephedrine is as well, but I haven't noticed if its on the shelves here in Chiang Mai. Any other "fat burner" might also be considered suspect. Be thankful they didn't throw you in prison.

I've ordered supplements in varying amounts, among other things, many times from the US. Sometimes I get dinged by customs and sometimes NOT. Well, I made a $100 order a few months ago, no trouble. I made a $300 order a few weeks ago and see by DHL tracking that it is now at Customs, I guess in Bangkok. Well, I'm not happy, that could mean quite a hefty bill additional. But what you gonna do? I do hope there's nothing in there that isn't allowed. I don't think so, vitamin B, tribulus, boswellia, DHEA. glucosamine, all things you see on counters in Thailand. DHEA is illegal in Canada, UK and Australia, but not in the US or Thailand. Knock on wood.

That's been my experience. If customs does bad things to me on this order, I'll try to return here and tip everybody off. I think I'll have to pay 2-3k baht. We'll see.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a couple of data points:

I recently had two different packages delivered from the U.S. via USPS and handled by Thai Post:

--a $90 external hard drive drew only a 7% duty/tax.

--but a refurb $35 home (not commercial) kitchen appliance (actual purchase price) ordered through Amazon was valued by Customs at $47, and then charged a 30% duty on Customs' higher valuation plus VAT.

I have no idea how they come up with what seems like such widely disparate results.

[fotog]

In July I lost my eye glasses in NYC. They were found and my son mailed them to me here in BKK via USPS.

The post office sent a notice that I had to pay import duty.

I gathered all my evidence that the glasses were lost, then found and were simply being returned to me as a 'used personal medical item'.

I filled out the paper work at the post office and requested a 'waiver of the duty fee'.

The post office said it would take about 14 days to be resolved.

Yesterday it was one month and my wife called the customs department. They told her there is a queue and hung up on her.

[Delane]

Need some advise. I recently purchased a specialized LED light device from Chiang Mai Thialand. It was not working properly, so I sent it back for repair and reported the value at $333 since that was what I paid for it a couple of weeks earlier. So I send it back and DHL wants over $100 in Duty for something that is going back for repair. Also I've already paid duty on this end as well but it was only About $12 here in Japan. I intend to contact DHL in Thialand Monday and explain that it originated from Thailand, so why must the original sender need to pay duty on something the he's going to repair and send out again. Any advise is welcome.

[khunyod]

The reason people believe that there is corruption with DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc., because of the price gouging.

Gouging can be considered a scam.

Price gouging is a pejorative term referring to when a seller spikes the prices of goods, services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair, and is considered exploitative, potentially to an unethical extent.

The pricing is unreasonable, though when asked for justification there are various documents with how the numbers are added up.

The main Gouge is calculating the Tariff based on CIS - Cost + Insurance + Shipping. This means that a tariff, which is applied to a good or a service (based on percentage of value or per unit price), is actually applied to MORE than the value (mandatory insurance fee = 1% of value) along with the cost of transportation (which isn't the actual cost, but from a table of costs based on zones).

So, for a 1,000 THB item, with 1,000 THB shipping:

Cost of good: 1,000 THB

Cost of shipping: 1,000 THB

Insurance = 1% of declared cost of good

Shipping: zone fee based on schedule of costs (sometimes more than actual shipping costs)

CIS * Tariff rate (0-80%) = Tariff, with 20-30% being common on many items

Possible additional excise tax

Possible additional charge

(CIS + Tariff + possible other fees and taxes) * 7% VAT

With a common 30% Tariff, the actual Tariff and Taxes on a 1,000 THB item can be 78.6%!

So:

1,000 THB item

1,000 THB Shipping

10 THB insurance (mandatory)

CIS = 2,010 THB * 30% tariff = 603 THB

CIS + Tariff = ~2,613 THB

VAT = 300 * 7% = 183 THB

Total Tariff, Taxes = 786 THB on an item that costs 1,000 THB to buy and 1,000 THB to ship. Effective Tariff/Tax of 78.6%

This is price gouging, and it is to be blamed equally on the couriers and the customs officials. Atrocious.

The idea that shipping and insurance of an item can be assessed at the tariff rate for an item itself is appalling. The idea that VAT applies to a Tariff and to Tariff on shipping. Again, ridiculous. How is there a Value Add to the act of adding a Tariff? This kind of non-competitive and price gouging nonsense is not addressed in the TPP either, so it will go on as long as everyone makes money at it: Courier companies and customs officials both.

Ways to avoid price gouging in shipping and postal services:

- Don't ship from abroad, whenever possible (buy local)

- Ship as gift

- Ship value as least amount

- Ship item as something with low or zero tariff

- Ship item as valueless samples

- Don't ever use courier companies

If an item can fit in carryon or stowed luggage, consider subsidizing someone's plane ticket to your location, rather than paying the shipping charges.

[wileywhiley]

When you use couriers they declare the GROSS weight of the item ONLY for customs valuations which usually works out a lot more than the true shipping costs. Thai Customs then add on "their" idea of insurance AND postage costs for sending the item. All because the courier does not provide them with the figures on the declared duty forms.

Combine the two and you end up with expensive import duties.

I have asked the senders to ensure that they write on the actual cost of the item, postage, and insurance on the declaration import forms so the correct values can be used to assess the duty correctly.

The copies are sometimes still on the parcels, but most times they seem to disappear.

TODATE none of the senders when using couriers with declared values/shipping costs/ and insurance costs have actuallyhad these forms used to calculate the correct duties.!

IT IS THE COURIER THAT TOTALLY IGNORES THE IMPORT DUTY FORMS AND GETS STUFF ASSESSED BY GROSS WEIGHT FOR THIER OWN CONVENIENCE AND SPEED OF PROCESSING ITEMS.!!

SO YOU PAY FOR THEIR SERVICE, and they stuff you for using them. I have rung them up to complain, and they freely admit they ONLY use the weight for

assessing the duties, EVEN THOUGH THE FORMS ARE ON THE PARCELS.!!! That is the issue I have with them.

WHY.???

IT IS ALL ABOUT THEIR COSTS OF PROCESSING AND THE SPEED OF GETTING THINGS THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

So,the bottom line is that it is best to use a postal service whenever you can, you may still have some duty to pay but at least it will be assessed on the values declared.!

One last thing, if you declare a silly value, or what they consider low, they will determine what value they think it is and you will have to pay that amount if you want your item, so beware.

[leonidpattayski]

I bought motorcycle boots for 102usd on aliexpress, it was delivered by FedEx. It was a delay in thai custom because they asked for  proof of payment as a result I Payed 2619 baht. 1619  was tariff and 1000 baht was a fine for clearance delay. We cannot blame carrier company for that, the problem is how thai custom works and they have ridiculous import tariffs here. I just wondering how much tariff thai exporters  pay when they import cars into Australia. Would be fair for Australia for example to put 50% import tariff for every car imported in Australia from Thailand. Thailand managed to export many products abroad using free trade agreements without paying any import tariffs in other countries but still taking 40-100% import tariffs on importing anything into Thailand. I hope other countries question that sooner or later. Either Thailand reduces its import tariffs or other countries put same tariffs on same goods imported from Thailand.

Edited January 7, 2017 by leonidpattayski

[Don Mega]

3 minutes ago, leonidpattayski said:

I bought motorcycle boots for 102usd on aliexpress, it was delivered by FedEx. It was a delay in thai custom because they asked for  proof of payment as a result I Payed 2619 baht. 1619  was tariff and 1000 baht was a fine for clearance delay. We cannot blame carrier company for that, the problem is how thai custom works and they have ridiculous import tariffs here. I just wondering how much tariff thai exporters  pay when they import cars into Australia. Would be fair for Australia for example to put 50% import tariff for every car imported in Australia from Thailand. Thailand managed to export many products abroad using free trade agreements without paying any import tariffs in other countries but still taking 40-100% import tariffs on importing anything into Thailand. I hope other countries question that sooner or later. Either Thailand reduces its import tariffs or they put same tariffs on same goods imported from Thailand.

 

 

How much was freight ?

 

Footwear attracts 30% import duties.

 

$102 + 30% (import duties) = $132.60

$132.60 + 7%  (VAT) = $141.88

total import duties + VAT = $39.88 (Bt.1424.11)

 

The Bt.1000 fine for clearance delay is ordinary and I would question that.

 

Not sure what importing a car into Australia from Thailand has to do with importing footwear from China into Thailand but nice little rant either way !!