Customs Fees On Laptop Imports

[gcrutcher]

Does anyone know what the fees and/or customs issues might be if I order an Acer laptop from the UK or USA and have it shipped to Thailand?

[Upekkha]

Does anyone know what the fees and/or customs issues might be if I order an Acer laptop from the UK or USA and have it shipped to Thailand?

Off the top of my head, I would guess that the rates would be extremely penal, as laptops are made and readily available in Thailand. You may also have problems in kickbacks when trying to clear it from customs.

None of my business, but I can't see why you can't get what you want in Thailand. There is an extremely wide range of 'name' lap tops available here, including Acer, and from what I have seen, at comparable or cheaper prices than you would pay in the UK, to say nothing of the 'generic' brands which are dirt cheap. Pan tip, and other places have reputable dealers who will do very good deals if you bargain.

Alternatively, if you're planning a trip abroad in the near future, just buy it out of the country and bring it in as hand luggage.. As long as its not in its original packing, all farangs are expected to travel with a notebook these days and I doubt you'd have any problems with customs.

Edited March 27, 2006 by Upekkha

[gcrutcher]

Well...from what I see...the prices are retail prices. No one seems to discount laptops.

I can get an equivalent Acer laptop in the USA for about 20,000-30,000 baht less (shipping about $100 USD). In some cases, up to 40% less.

Gary

[stumonster]

its probably not worth it to ship in because the customs prices seem to be arbitary , no matter waht the rulebook says. once they have the item in their possession they will charge you what they think you will pay. there is many an angry thread on this board concerning the customs department in thailand.

you might save yourself some baht - but at what price do you put your time and good health.

if you wanted to save money , its probably chaeper to fly to singapore and buy and bring it back with you.

[poorfarang]

I paid about $150 in customs fees to ship $4,000+ worth of brand new computers from USA to BKK.

I lied on the customs forms and said they were repair parts, hence the low duty.

[Nordlys]

I believe import duty on all IT products (PC, peripherals and parts) is 5% (on CIF = cost of goods + insurance + freight combined) if not completely scrapped yet. Plus there is 7% VAT on CIF + import duty combined.

[fisherd3]

Forget bringing in anything that is not in your luggage. This is not the real world.

Edited March 27, 2006 by fisherd3

[Mister Doom]

Forget bringing in anything that is not in your luggage. This is not the real world.

I bought a Compaq notebook in Singapore duty free a couple of years back, and found the same model was selling at roughly the same price in Thailand and the UK. I know that USA prices are much cheaper, but wouldn't recommend it. Apart from the customs nihghtmares, you will have to be careful with voltage adaptors etc. You might even have problems with different periferal plugs, DVD formats etc.,I don't reckon its worth the hassle.

As Upekkha says, you can bargain prices down- especially at places like Fortune City and Pan Tip - take a Thai with you.

[tutsiwarrior]

we just shipped a Toshiba laptop from Bahrain back to Thailand...7 years old but still functional and the wife had a problem getting it out of customs. We finally got it out but not before considerable hassle from the customs (we're talking about an ancient creaking machine here.)

The best recommendation is to purchase the laptop abroad and carry it in if the overseas price is right...don't give the <deleted> a chance to survey your goods and figure how much they can get outta you...

I am not sorry if this offends the falang PC brigade 'oh...we must respect thai customs laws and endure whatever they foist upon us for respectfulness sake...' shit...Thailand is a third world country with a third world mentality...your laptop is a piece of personal kit and should not be the subject of inspections by ridiculous and corrupt bureaucrats...

upwards and onwards...

[The Skipper]

Imported laptops may have support issues later on with parts / service.

Go to Global Solutions 3rd fl. Pantip Plaza.

The after sale service is quite good.

[Joey Boy]

This is maybe unrelated, but I sold my old laptop on ebay UK and marked the DHL package valued @ GBP600. Customs in the UK charged GBP38 from what I remember, even though the package was clearly marked as being a present + originally being purchased in the UK

[OldAsiaHand]

Forget bringing in anything that is not in your luggage. This is not the real world.

Excellent advice. Customs is probably the most corrupt, arbitrary government department in Thailand, and that's a hard distinction to earn. They are true professionals at extortion. Once they even demanded I pay duty on forwarded mail and threatened to destroy it if I didn't pay what they asked. You can more or less write off anything that falls into their hands.

Edited March 28, 2006 by OldAsiaHand

[Sulaphat]

My understanding of how the Customs Department works when importing items using DHL, Fedex, UPS and other express services is as follows:

Unless you make special arrangements in advance with DHL et al, anything that you import, regardless of what the actual duty for the items should be according to specific tariff, will be charged with the 30% general merchandise tariff. Unless, of course, Customs can find a higher rate to apply to the specific type of merchandise you are bringing in.

The 30% is charged on the estimated retail value of the goods in Thailand, not on the price stated in the bill of lading or receipt from the sender. Customs Department of course does the estimating.

You will then be hit with a customs clearance surcharge from DHL. Then VAT will be charged at 7% based upon Thai retail price + customs duty + customs clearance charge.

You are guaranteed to get this treatment regardless of which of the express delivery services you use.

My experience using the postal service is much better. I have frequently escaped any customs duties by using the post instead of DHL and the like. Not sure whether this would work for obviously high value items like a laptop, however.

[The Skipper]

Thats right. Items I've sent thru the PO escaped any taxes.

A much higher risk of theft , incompetence, etc at the PO though.

[fisherd3]

Out of four items I have sent to Thailand three from UK and one from Australia using ordinary mail, only one arrived, others including a DL envelope with one sheet of paper in it, did not.

If you must, try and address envelope in Thai and/or send to a Thai name.

Edited March 29, 2006 by fisherd3

[The Coder]

I had a box of copper cookware sent to Thailand by US postal service; a new, solid copper set from europe you can't find in Thailand. The value was declared appropriately. It was held at the post office and I was charged a large duty; Sulaphat's calculations seem about right. After that experience I decided to haul things in my luggage or ask friends to bring in the stuff if at all possible.

[gcrutcher]

Imported laptops may have support issues later on with parts / service.

Go to Global Solutions 3rd fl. Pantip Plaza.

The after sale service is quite good.

Thanks for the advice...Went to see Global Solution 2K Co. LTD and bought an

Acer Aspire 5674WLMi for 89,482 Baht including VAT AND including a 3 year warranty.

They included, FREE, whatever software I wanted them to install. List price on

this is 89,900 baht + VAT.

Thanks for your help. Tis is an awesome laptop.

Also, bought a laptop cooler (750 baht): YL Cooler #NB-02

Really keeps the laptop cool, including the mousepad and fits nicely in the

Acer laptop bag.

Anyone know where I can get a cheap Sony Ericsson GC-83 Aircard?

[Bangkok Barry]

I'd also recommend Global Solutions. I've bought my last three laptops from them over about seven years and they've always been very helpful if I've had a problem. It's usually been fixed on the spot, or certainly within a couple of hours.

I once, years ago, thought I'd lost all my data but they got the machine going again with everything intact. After that shock I immediately bought a portable cd recorder to back-up everything, the old purple Iomega thing. Still got it, but of course it's now gathering dust in the cupboard....