Importing A Laptop - My Experience

[Bugsy1966]

I was unable to find anything close to the spec I needed for a new laptop locally so decided to buy one from the US. I researched the customs duty side of things on here and although there were conflicting reports of success/failure in terms of avoiding customs duty I did glean a good deal of useful information - many thanks to those that contributed. Some posters were adamant that laptops were not dutiable and those that had been hammered for the 40% duty had been ripped off but it became clear that many had indeed been hit with this. Others had had their laptops/other similar items sail through without a hitch (even without VAT in some cases apparently) despite using courier services. The general consensus though seemed to be that using USPS would be the best way and using DHL or Fedex was to be avoided.

The Thai customs website is, unsurprisingly, not at all clear. On the one hand you can find a line item for laptops that says they are exempt but equally you can find a line item for laptops that say they are dutiable at 40%.

For the benefit of others that might be considering importing a laptop, here is what happened.

I used shipito.com (Oregon to avoid the CA sales tax) and the first problem reared its ugly head when, because of the package size/weight, their system announced that USPS was not an option - I had to use Fedex, DHL or similar. I opted for Fedex with some trepidation. Sure enough, having tracked the item through various ports of call via the Fedex website, it arrived in Thailand early on Monday morning and was immediately flagged as 'clearance delay - import'. Initially I let sleeping dogs lie to see what would happen. There had been no update by the following morning so I had my GF (in whose name it had been imported) call Fedex in Bangkok.

They told her that duty had to be paid (at 40%) as well as VAT. Having been primed earlier, she told them she accepted the VAT charge but not the duty as, in her understanding, laptops were exempt. The lady on the other end of the phone insisted that they were dutiable and asked for a copy of my GF's ID to clear the package, providing her (Fedex lady) email address for said purpose.

So I emailed her (in my GF's name) to dispute the customs charges and asked for the contact details of the officer concerned as 'I would like my lawyer to discuss the matter with them' - thinking that this would probably make no difference but was worth a shot. I also reiterated the belief that they were exempt from duty and copied/pasted the line item from the Thai customs website (only the exempt one naturally!) plus a copy of the Fedex webpage which estimated the duty at zero, showing only VAT as payable.

The reply from Fedex ignored everything I had sent and merely asked for a copy of my GF's ID to enable them to clear the item. I replied with a copy of her ID but asked that they provided me with confirmation that they understood that I did not accept that duty had to be paid before passing on the ID copy and/or attempting to clear the package. I received a one line reply confirming this. I wasn't hopeful and fully expected them to come back to me pointing out the line item that showed 40% and demanding the duty but figured it was worth a try as the duty in this case was well in excess of 20k baht.

It all went quiet for a little over 24 hours and then late the following afternoon my GF received a call to say that the package had been cleared and it would arrive the next day. The caller also said an invoice would be emailed regarding charges but no mention was made of the scale of those and my GF didn't enquire. Early the next day the email arrived - no sign of customs duty, just the VAT and a spurious 'clearance fee'. I say spurious because the Fedex website makes it clear that handling customs is included in their original charges unless they have to amend a customs declaration or do other additional work because of an error when the declaration was originally completed. This was not the case here but, perhaps wrongly, I decided to let it slide and paid them their 1200 baht rather than delay things further.

So, in summary, it appears to remain a lottery as to whether or not duty is applied but if it does happen then disputing it may bear fruit. Maybe I just got lucky on this occasion but I do wonder if Fedex (or, more accurately, their employees) are just being lazy as it's not their money or if they are trying it on and supplementing their income in some way and, once challenged, backpedal.

[poooket]

Just out of curiosity, what was the computer spec that you couldn't find anything close to locally?

[Crossy]

Thanks for the report Bugsy, to save others the trouble could you post / link-to the two line items detailing the duty payable (0% and 40%).

[negreanu]

Never had an issue with 40% tax on laptops. I have imported maybe 15 in the last 7 years. Always VAT and handling fee.

I have only 1 similar experience out of all my shipments. I stated ok email me the copy of the customs information that states 40% on computers / laptops. Never happened. Laptop delivered same afternoon 7% VAT and 750THB Clearance fee.

Handling customs is included for items that require no further work on the part of the agent such as paperwork low value items etc. Anything more and your paying the agent for their services. You can get your own agent to clear the shipment but expect a lot more than the fedex clearance charge.

Corruption Thailand

Edited March 22, 2013 by negreanu

[Digitalbanana]

Just out of curiosity, what was the computer spec that you couldn't find anything close to locally?

I always need latest processor 17 inch 1080p screen laptops, dual HDD, that are not available locally at same prices as US if at all. So I also use shipito and Fedex and have never had a problem on 3 imports so far to either Bangkok or south Thailand. When this laptop dies I'll do the same again.

[CharlieH]

Wonder what the story would have been WITHOUT the Thai ID, only ferang .........no prizes for guessing that one.

[candypants]

the same

[Bugsy1966]

Just out of curiosity, what was the computer spec that you couldn't find anything close to locally?

Nothing too flash - just a 17" HD screen, 16GB of memory and a i7 quad-core processor (ideally 3630QM). In terms of local availability InvadeIT did have a few that would have fitted the bill near enough but, upon enquiry, they didn't have stock or any indication of when they might be getting any.

[Bugsy1966]

Thanks for the report Bugsy, to save others the trouble could you post / link-to the two line items detailing the duty payable (0% and 40%).

Not straightforward I'm afraid as the Thai customs website doesn't work like that! However, if one starts at http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp then.....

1) click on search for import tariff

2) enter 84713020 in the tariff code and hit search

3) click on the subheading 8471.30.20

You will then see the first line item for subheading 8471.30.20 with a duty rate of 40%, followed by 3 further subheadings of 8471.302000 - two showing as exempt and one showing as 3%. There are then a number of others categorised by country/region (none are USA) for which there are trade agreements in place, all of which show as exempt. Then there is one final one falling under a WTO agreement which shows as 20%.

Lord knows which applies and maybe someone with more knowledge than I can make sense of the above but I gave up and, as aforementioned, just winged it and sent Fedex a copy/paste of the second one.

[Digitalbanana]

Thanks for the report Bugsy, to save others the trouble could you post / link-to the two line items detailing the duty payable (0% and 40%).

Not straightforward I'm afraid as the Thai customs website doesn't work like that! However, if one starts at http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp then.....

1) click on search for import tariff

2) enter 84713020 in the tariff code and hit search

3) click on the subheading 8471.30.20

You will then see the first line item for subheading 8471.30.20 with a duty rate of 40%, followed by 3 further subheadings of 8471.302000 - two showing as exempt and one showing as 3%. There are then a number of others categorised by country/region (none are USA) for which there are trade agreements in place, all of which show as exempt. Then there is one final one falling under a WTO agreement which shows as 20%.

Lord knows which applies and maybe someone with more knowledge than I can make sense of the above but I gave up and, as aforementioned, just winged it and sent Fedex a copy/paste of the second one.

I have always used the Fedex Global Trader Manager web page to calculate the import duties and using the same HS code as mentioned above that applies to laptops in this case the Fedex sites generates a report that was exactly as I was quoted on delivery with 0% duty. It couldn't seem clearer to me, I would have no issues getting my next computer the same way.

[Tomtomtom69]

I would just hand import everything - go to the USA, buy a few laptops then fly back - no need to pay anything. At the airport in Bangkok nobody checks anything, which is surprising given that in most other regional airports, everything is scanned upon entry. Yangon, Ho Chi Minh and many other airports don't let you pass without scanning EVERY item, not just every 1000th person like in Bangkok.

[Digitalbanana]

I would just hand import everything - go to the USA, buy a few laptops then fly back - no need to pay anything.

If airfares were free, yes this could work I suppose?

[properperson]

bloke down our way bought one from took com....all done and dusted.........

[Arkady]

There are too many stories about global courier firms trying to scam individual customers for fake import duty charges in Thailand. I think they are all franchises in Thailand, as the foreign owners are not allowed majority ownership of logistics businesses in Thailand and they would rather just take their part of the freight fee and let local firms deal with the hassle of logistics and avoid getting ripped off by jv partners . The local offices in turn seem to subcontract to clearing agents who have close relations with customs and can negotiate deals on behalf of large clients that the local office can pretend they had nothing to do with, if a bad smell comes out later. On the other hand they can conspire with the notoriously corrupt Customs Dept to scam small clients that have no connections with the overseas offices of Fedex etc.

[Arkady]

I used shipito.com (Oregon to avoid the CA sales tax) and the first problem reared its ugly head when, because of the package size/weight, their system announced that USPS was not an option - I had to use Fedex, DHL or similar. I opted for Fedex with some trepidation.

l had this problem with some DVDs that were not worth sending by courier. The solution was to get shipito to repack into a smaller package for US$5, so it could go by USPS. Might not work for a laptop though.