Anyone know how to export through EMS with the customs formality?

[jimmiejackson]

I have an export company and as such charge my clients 0% VAT, as they are all outside of Thailand.

In order to get through the audit I have to prove that I have exported my goods in every case.

When I ship through DHL etc that is fine but sometimes I just need to send 1 or 2 items to a customer and using DHL is FAR too expensive.

When I ship through EMS or Thai Post Office (International service) I only get the copy of the small pro forma invoice I write and a receipt, my accountant tells me this isn't enough.

Does anyone know how I can get the correct customs formality in this case? I am a little confused by the E-Customs system and whether I can use that. I am in Sukhumvit and driving all the way to Chaengwattana where the post office has the customs clearing center just isn't viable for a few hundred Baht's worth of profit.

Thanks.

[darrendsd]

If you only ship through EMS now and again then why bother declaring it?

Why do you need to visit the customs clearing center? I have sent numerous packages via EMS at the normal PO

If you do want to do everything in the correct manner then you will probably need to visit Thai Post HQ and speak to someone there, the office is at Lak Si, I have been there before on a different matter and they were very helpful, I would imagine they will give you some kind of export number/account

Edited August 7, 2013 by darrendsd

[Markaew]

Although I don't use EMS regularly, I haven't had any problems with outgoing packages.

But incoming is another issue. I have a guy that regularly holds my packages hostage until I pay off his wife and then he releases the package tax and duty free. This is the branch in Chinatown. It doesn't matter if I'm out of Bangkok, he wants me to travel to Bangkok to pay him off.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Markaew

[jimmiejackson]

If you only ship through EMS now and again then why bother declaring it?

Why do you need to visit the customs clearing center? I have sent numerous packages via EMS at the normal PO

If you do want to do everything in the correct manner then you will probably need to visit Thai Post HQ and speak to someone there, the office is at Lak Si, I have been there before on a different matter and they were very helpful, I would imagine they will give you some kind of export number/account

Thanks for the advice and you are right, if it was now and then I wouldn't worry about it but we are expanding into a new market which will mean sending a lot of packages through EMS etc and I don't want to get stung for the 7% VAT at the end of the year because I can't prove I exported these goods.

I guess I will have to try Lak Si and see what they say.

[jimmiejackson]

Although I don't use EMS regularly, I haven't had any problems with outgoing packages.

But incoming is another issue. I have a guy that regularly holds my packages hostage until I pay off his wife and then he releases the package tax and duty free. This is the branch in Chinatown. It doesn't matter if I'm out of Bangkok, he wants me to travel to Bangkok to pay him off.

Got to love Thailand! I hope the "pay off" is less than the tax and duty would be at least!

[Markaew]

Although I don't use EMS regularly, I haven't had any problems with outgoing packages.

But incoming is another issue. I have a guy that regularly holds my packages hostage until I pay off his wife and then he releases the package tax and duty free. This is the branch in Chinatown. It doesn't matter if I'm out of Bangkok, he wants me to travel to Bangkok to pay him off.

Got to love Thailand! I hope the "pay off" is less than the tax and duty would be at least!

Not really, but I have no choice. He won't even process it unless I pay. I could easily have to wait in the lobby all day until I pay.

[darrendsd]

Are you getting a receipt for this? Lots of incoming parcels do incur a charge, If not when he does it again tell him you will report him and then do it if he calls your bluff, the PO will take a dim view of this believe me

If it is incurring charges then the bill will come from customs, if he is waiving these charges for a backhander then he is defrauding them

Edited August 8, 2013 by darrendsd

[darrendsd]

If you only ship through EMS now and again then why bother declaring it?

Why do you need to visit the customs clearing center? I have sent numerous packages via EMS at the normal PO

If you do want to do everything in the correct manner then you will probably need to visit Thai Post HQ and speak to someone there, the office is at Lak Si, I have been there before on a different matter and they were very helpful, I would imagine they will give you some kind of export number/account

Thanks for the advice and you are right, if it was now and then I wouldn't worry about it but we are expanding into a new market which will mean sending a lot of packages through EMS etc and I don't want to get stung for the 7% VAT at the end of the year because I can't prove I exported these goods.

I guess I will have to try Lak Si and see what they say.

You will need to set up an account with the PO then, as a side note at my PO here in Hua Hin give a 10% discount if you spend more then 10,000 baht with them in one visit using EMS, doesn't matter how many packages make up that 10k

Edited August 8, 2013 by darrendsd

[jimmiejackson]

If you only ship through EMS now and again then why bother declaring it?

Why do you need to visit the customs clearing center? I have sent numerous packages via EMS at the normal PO

If you do want to do everything in the correct manner then you will probably need to visit Thai Post HQ and speak to someone there, the office is at Lak Si, I have been there before on a different matter and they were very helpful, I would imagine they will give you some kind of export number/account

Thanks for the advice and you are right, if it was now and then I wouldn't worry about it but we are expanding into a new market which will mean sending a lot of packages through EMS etc and I don't want to get stung for the 7% VAT at the end of the year because I can't prove I exported these goods.

I guess I will have to try Lak Si and see what they say.

You will need to set up an account with the PO then, as a side note at my PO here in Hua Hin give a 10% discount if you spend more then 10,000 baht with them in one visit using EMS, doesn't matter how many packages make up that 10k

That sounds great, I love discounts!

With your account do you get proof of export (to use in your accounting)?

[darrendsd]

Hi I haven't got a account, I just know that this is something that the Post Office in Hua Hin do, if they do it here then they will do it at every PO, you don't need a account to get the discount

Edited August 9, 2013 by darrendsd

[pancakeman]

The letter of the law says you need a "bicon" (sp?) form for each package in order to receive VAT 0%. This can be obtained when shipped at the Chenwattana head post office branch.

This forms states the value of the goods that you exporting, so that you can claim 0% VAT of that value.

However this presents some problems:

- You may have to travel far to go to this branch, and other branches don't have this service available.

- The service is expensive (about 300THB per package) so if you are shipping small items then it makes the cost unfeasible.

Possible solution:

Talk with your local revenue department; and see if the head dude to cool with your situation. In most cases the revenue department people are actually pretty down to earth and will understand your case and will be fine to accept the regular post office receipts/slips as proof of exports, especially if your payments are coming into your bank from over seas.

I understand you position as the letter of the law really doesn't allow any options, but thankful the revenue departments are flexible in their reading of the laws (but as I said go visit them and feel this out first in your district)

Another possible solution:

You or a member of your staff can be certificated for issuing the export forms themselves (not sure on the details of how to apply for this), then you can save on the 300THB, but I think you still need to travel to Chenwattana to ship.

Note it will help if you have a respected accounting company doing your accounts as this will put you in a much better position should any issues arise later.

P.S. The Post Office discounts are kind of dumb, as the discount only applies on the day you ship, so you could do 200,000 in shipping per month and get no discount (if you ship 9,000 per time). Yet you could get a 10% if you ship only 10,000 per month all at once.

UPS offer much better discounts; we get more then 50% discount on UPS published rates, and they don't care how much you ship each time, they base discounts on your overall average shipping volume. They are also more willing to come with "solutions" for various situations, as opposed to the Post Office which is set in stone and that's that

Edited August 9, 2013 by pancakeman

[jimmiejackson]

The letter of the law says you need a "bicon" (sp?) form for each package in order to receive VAT 0%. This can be obtained when shipped at the Chenwattana head post office branch.

This forms states the value of the goods that you exporting, so that you can claim 0% VAT of that value.

However this presents some problems:

- You may have to travel far to go to this branch, and other branches don't have this service available.

- The service is expensive (about 300THB per package) so if you are shipping small items then it makes the cost unfeasible.

Possible solution:

Talk with your local revenue department; and see if the head dude to cool with your situation. In most cases the revenue department people are actually pretty down to earth and will understand your case and will be fine to accept the regular post office receipts/slips as proof of exports, especially if your payments are coming into your bank from over seas.

I understand you position as the letter of the law really doesn't allow any options, but thankful the revenue departments are flexible in their reading of the laws (but as I said go visit them and feel this out first in your district)

Another possible solution:

You or a member of your staff can be certificated for issuing the export forms themselves (not sure on the details of how to apply for this), then you can save on the 300THB, but I think you still need to travel to Chenwattana to ship.

Note it will help if you have a respected accounting company doing your accounts as this will put you in a much better position should any issues arise later.

P.S. The Post Office discounts are kind of dumb, as the discount only applies on the day you ship, so you could do 200,000 in shipping per month and get no discount (if you ship 9,000 per time). Yet you could get a 10% if you ship only 10,000 per month all at once.

UPS offer much better discounts; we get more then 50% discount on UPS published rates, and they don't care how much you ship each time, they base discounts on your overall average shipping volume. They are also more willing to come with "solutions" for various situations, as opposed to the Post Office which is set in stone and that's that

That's a very helpful answer thanks a lot. I will have to get my accountants to look into it for me and hopefully we can work something out.

As for UPS, it might be worth us checking with them. We ship through DHL right now but the discount is basically zero despite a few weeks of pushing for a better deal before signing up. We use their "promotional box" which does equate to around a 30% discount but we have to ship at least 25kg at a time.

Anyone have any tips for how to push for a big discount with one of the shipping companies? I honestly don't care who it is as long as they can give us the customs forms and do the usual 3-4 days shipping to Europe.