Shipping A Motorboat From Us To Thailand ?

[deesamui]

I have a seaark 2072 with a yamaha 90hp jet ( 115 hp with prop) here in the US, I am wondering if it would make sense to import it to Thailand, great river runner, runs on step on 10 inches of water, easy;

anybody has an idea about custom duties etc? anybody imported a boat to thailand before for private purposes ?

also have a polaris 6 wheeler, sportsman 500, the same questions here

thx in advance for any input

cheers

[kiniyow]

It won't be pretty..Customs here is up to Customs and how they feel that day..Why you see so little American Cars here and other things that America makes~~

[moradave]

Why would you want to import. Great boat builders here for a fraction of the cost. You could probably have boats built here for less than you sell them for in the US. No problem then with shipping costs and import duties.

[jaapfries]

You can import the boat free of excise-duty (iow: Tax-Free), but you still have to pay 7% VAT.

You can not import the Outboard Motor free of excise-duty (+ 200% of new-value) and you also have to pay 7% over the total, which includes cost of CIF !

Forget importing anything with wheels on it, because the import-duties are way too high.

Hope this helps.

[deesamui]

You can import the boat free of excise-duty (iow: Tax-Free), but you still have to pay 7% VAT.

You can not import the Outboard Motor free of excise-duty (+ 200% of new-value) and you also have to pay 7% over the total, which includes cost of CIF !

Forget importing anything with wheels on it, because the import-duties are way too high.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, this helped

[justben]

deesamui, I'm delighted to inform you jaapfries has probably never gone through the process of importing a boat with an engine so you'll be glad to know he has it wrong.

Importing a power boat into Thailand is actually relatively inexpensive and painless. You DO NOT have to "pay 200% on the engine"... the tax free boat import thing covers any and every type and size of boat with or without engine and the engine is not a penalty.. It is absolute nonsense to say 200%. Even if you import an outboard engine separately you will end up with a price only about 25% higher than it would cost in the USA. I have done BOTH and it is very doable.

If the boat is on a trailer then the trailer will be taxed at about 10% (high figure) of the value of the boat, or some other arbitrary figure, depending on the condition of the vessel.

The expenses you are looking at are as follows:

VAT 7%

Trailer Tax 10%

Various Port costs (insignificant)

Shipping from US - In container about $3500 (beware of ridiculously cheap offers) If on a car carrier (RORO) then you're looking at substantially more than that depending on the dimensions

Customs Agent - Variable but absolutely necessary. He will do away with all the red tape for you saving you a lot of time and running around and they arent extortionists. He will also arrange for delivery to your location if you so choose, so you can sit back and relax.

Yes there are costs invloved but I can tell you it is worth it and all things considered it's a great deal. Most importantly, it's painless.

Enjoy the water.

If you have any questions do let me know.

[justben]

The Seaark will cost about $6000 to ship on a car carrier. However, being an aluminium boat, you can safely have it shoved in a container. The shipper will build a special frame to keep everything from moving around. There may be some minimal cost involved to unload it from the container but will still be cheaper than on a car carrier. Car carrier from the US takes 6+ weeks to arrive here. Containers arrive in under 3 weeks. I would avoid having a boat built in Thailand. Like everything else, the quality is poor, no pride in craftsmanship yields laughable results and absolutely lacking any sort of standards and style. ... You've been warned It may cost less than building abroad but you get much much less than what you pay for here in LOS.

Regarding your other vehicles I can't answer because that's not my field, but your best bet would be to call a customs agent that you can communicate with easily and they will be able to tell you how those vehicles are taxed. After all, they do this for a living and they will know better than anyone.

[impulse]

Justben, Out of curiosity, if outboard engines come in at 200%, what's the duty on inboard or I/O engines and drives with a boat or shipped separately?

[justben]

impulse, there is no 200% on outboard engines- as part of a boat the entire thing is TAX FREE. inboard I/O exactly the same thing - TAX FREE when already installed on the boat. Old or new it is the same. This policy exists because Thailand can't compete in the boat industry on any level whatsoever. Shipped separately there are taxes but it may vary by country of origin, and my experience is limited. In any case where you are buying an engine separately, it will always be somewhat cheaper to buy from a dealer here (which I've also done before) that will import it for you, if not in stock. Even if you go at it yourself, the price doesnt blow out of proportion at all, because Thailand is not a player in this field. Therefore I don't see the price increasing more then 50% (i'm exaggarating for the sake of any troll that may infringe on this thread) after all shipping costs and taxes.

Edited June 15, 2013 by justben

[impulse]

justben, Thanks for clearing that up. I recall reading that import duties on boats are zero because Thailand govt wants to develop a recreational boating industry. That's why I was surprised to see an earlier post (#4) indicating punitive duties on O/B engines.

Looking at the tiny number of recreational boats I've seen in my limited travel, it seems that recreational boating is in its infancy. But looking at the quality of the smaller local made boats available, I can't see it happening with home grown products, either.

I did spend some time in a marina in Pattaya yesterday and the boat brokerages listed some interesting and surprisingly reasonably priced boats on their windows. But I did not inquire as I'm not in the market for a boat in that size range. (Except I would think about a cheap day sailer- but alas, none listed)

[justben]

I would like to retract some of the unfairly harsh words from #7 regarding quality and craftsmansahip since it is rather unfair and not really what I intended to say. I'll repolace that with saying that you can't compare world class brands and decades of development with the way and pace things are often done in Thailand, Don't want to sound so mean especially since I am currently enjoying my life in Thailand increasingly as the days go by and after all the hoops and barriers I've jumped through and over to make it possible.