Handling charges by customs?

[Trentham]

This behavior is not unusual at all. You shall know that ALL seagoing shipments coming in into the big corrupted city

of Bangkok´s port, they are being held for ransome as well.

The customs officers in port of Bangkok are so well known now among their fellow forwarder-collegues that the

thai customs brokers are recommended another port now adays for import-shipment Lat Krabang... The invironment

there is MUCH mbetter and MUCH less corrupted,,,

The Bangkok customs in Bangkok are digging their own grave just now...

Glegolo

I brought my stuff over from Australia five years ago. My shipper's agent here said they would not handle it unless I paid 50,000 baht cash, under the table.

I didn't pay it and handled it myself which turned into a nightmare with endless trips to Govt. offices and three trips to the port. Customs demanded import duty as well which I shouldn't have to pay as it was all personal household goods. I complied with the requirements as per the customs and immigration websites and showed them printouts but they didn't care.

Finally after 5 weeks of all this I was told to go and get my stuff. That final day my paperwork was handed around to 17 different desks at the port office, I had to pay some small handling fees. I was there all day but they didn't get it finished before 4.00 PM so then I was asked to pay 400 baht for staff overtime. When all was complete I was again sent to customs to pay import duty. I tried not to and debated the point endlessly and produced copies of the regualtions for them to read. No matter, I had to pay.

So I finally asked how much?? They told me whatever the percentage is of the value of my things. I asked them what they thought they were were worth. So I told them some very small figure and they did not argue. So I paid 2200 baht and it was done.

This is a very much abbreviated story of what happened in total.

[Lopburi99]

Just got the email:

Dear Sir,

I would like to informed you that the package has been released with duties 589.66 baht

Due to delivery address is out of DHL service so we have to forward shipment to Thailand post for delivery on behalf of DHL

So, please kindly transfer money to DHL Express International (Thailand) Ltd and forward proof of payment to me.

- Bangkok Bank Account no. 142-0-94397-7

- Kasikorn Bank Account No. 064-2-83722-2

Best Regards,

blah, blah

Edited October 16, 2013 by Lopburi99

[muratremix]

DHL don't deliver post to remote areas and they send via thai post / ems which makes them least favorable express shipping in Thailand.

Fedex and UPS does deliver to your front door no matter where you are and you can pay customs duties when you receive package which makes thing a lot easier.

EMS / Thai post require you to go to post office to pay and receive your package if anything is taxable. I would stay away from EMS at all costs. Pay a few bucks more to get it with fedex / UPS. Customs clearing fee is usually 100-200 baht with fedex/ups if there is something taxable (anything over 1000 baht is taxable by 7 percent vat plus 0% - 30% customs duties depending on what it is)

[h90]

This behavior is not unusual at all. You shall know that ALL seagoing shipments coming in into the big corrupted city

of Bangkok´s port, they are being held for ransome as well.

The customs officers in port of Bangkok are so well known now among their fellow forwarder-collegues that the

thai customs brokers are recommended another port now adays for import-shipment Lat Krabang... The invironment

there is MUCH mbetter and MUCH less corrupted,,,

The Bangkok customs in Bangkok are digging their own grave just now...

Glegolo

I brought my stuff over from Australia five years ago. My shipper's agent here said they would not handle it unless I paid 50,000 baht cash, under the table.

I didn't pay it and handled it myself which turned into a nightmare with endless trips to Govt. offices and three trips to the port. Customs demanded import duty as well which I shouldn't have to pay as it was all personal household goods. I complied with the requirements as per the customs and immigration websites and showed them printouts but they didn't care.

Finally after 5 weeks of all this I was told to go and get my stuff. That final day my paperwork was handed around to 17 different desks at the port office, I had to pay some small handling fees. I was there all day but they didn't get it finished before 4.00 PM so then I was asked to pay 400 baht for staff overtime. When all was complete I was again sent to customs to pay import duty. I tried not to and debated the point endlessly and produced copies of the regualtions for them to read. No matter, I had to pay.

So I finally asked how much?? They told me whatever the percentage is of the value of my things. I asked them what they thought they were were worth. So I told them some very small figure and they did not argue. So I paid 2200 baht and it was done.

This is a very much abbreviated story of what happened in total.

And most probably the shippers agent would have put the 50K in his own pocket. That is very common in Thailand :-))

Edit to add: That means you didn't had a list of items with value sent along?

Edited October 16, 2013 by h90

[YeaBiGgiEs]

My experiences not being this extreme but I'll share. I shop eBay often, I've found that any package coming from the USA that there is a 7b charge.. I had questioned and of course never got a str8 forward answer

Another item I bought (digital camera) from eBay from the USA, I had asked the shipped to checkmark "gift" or "repaired merchandise" in which they refused and when it reached Bangkok, I had to go down to that Post Office and pay about 1100b VAT tax.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 baht is the so-called "small package" charge sometimes assessed by Thai Post for delivering small packages.... AFAIK, it's not a customs duty or tax.

I've also shipped a lot of personal packages here over the years. And I concur with the advice given above, AVOID the express couriers like DHL and FedEx if at all possible, and instead use Airmail or regular postal service from the shipping country, which ends up being delivered here to your door by the local ThaiPost mailman.

As for the member who posted above that as long as you fill out the customs forms accurately you won't have a problem, that's certainly not my experience. I've filled out the forms correctly, and on one occasion had Customs assess a duty on a single pair of New Balance tennis shoes from the U.S. that was as much as the declared and real purchase price value of the shoes....

But most of the time, smaller, lower value international packages delivered here by Thai Post get little or no duty. That's the way to go... And avoid DHL at all costs.

[Ulic]

The parcel companies in the UK are doing the same 'clearance fee' rip off. Got fed up and challenged it, telling them I had not authorised them to do anything. They told me it was too complicated for people to do themselves and was automatic. I refused to pay and cited the law that it is illegal to withhold mail (here anyway). They sent the parcel to me, and now I have 'customs clearance by recipient' written on anything I buy from abroad, it's dead easy, all the charges are on the web and I even used it to successfully challenge a rating band.

The problem is that this rip off now makes it not worth importing anything low value, once there was a chance it would get through with no charge, now the parcel companies make darn sure everything is presented for inspection so they get their cut.

It is the same in Canada. A huge source of revenue for courier companies. People don't understand, don't challenge and on a one off

basis are not going to do it themselves. My brother questioned it, he got given the bullshit story. He called them in it went and did

it himself as he lives near the airport in Montreal. Took 10 minutes and he saved $35.

[h90]

Just got the email:

Dear Sir,

I would like to informed you that the package has been released with duties 589.66 baht

Due to delivery address is out of DHL service so we have to forward shipment to Thailand post for delivery on behalf of DHL

So, please kindly transfer money to DHL Express International (Thailand) Ltd and forward proof of payment to me.

- Bangkok Bank Account no. 142-0-94397-7

- Kasikorn Bank Account No. 064-2-83722-2

Best Regards,

blah, blah

Lithium Ion Batteries

But they declared:

Tariff: 8531.10.10

Heading

8531: Electric sound or visual signalling apparatus (for example, bells, sirens, indicator panels, burglar or fire alarms), other than those of heading 85.12 or 85.30.

Subheading

8531.10.10: Burglar or Fire Alarms and Similar Apparatus

Edited October 16, 2013 by h90

[BuriramRes]

A friend was telling me yesterday that the post office had contacted him for a duty payment he had purchased a pair of shoes/trainers in the USA via ebay at a cost of 3,000 baht the import duty demanded was 6,000 baht . he has now filled a form in at the post office on appeal and has requested that customs review the charge as there is not a 200% duty on shoes he has also told them that if they are insistant that he has to pay such an obscene amount to keep them. Last month his wife ordered a kitchen product from the UK for 2,500 baht the duty was 7 baht maybe she used her Thai name just a thought.

I have 50 cubic mtr in boxes coming from the UK they are personal posession's and I have to be honest I am expecting to get stung big time !!!!!

I had a consignment of personal effects sent by sea from AUS a few years ago. I went to the port at BKK and cleared it personally.

When we arrived a private agent lady convinced us to use her services, she was great. She knew where to go & what forms to fill out. She also knew how to jump the queues with a small bribe. Finally after about 3 hours running hither & thou we were displayed the consignment in a storage shed & picked it up, no customs fee. A forklift even took it outside for us to load into our vehicle.

The lady's fee was nominal, worth every baht. If you try & do it yourself it will take you days.

[BuriramRes]

I get medication mailed from an on-line chemist in AUS about once a year.

The first time it came straight through to my mailbox, no problem.

Last time I had to track it from the post office & found it had been delivered to customs at Chaeng Chom. Had to go there personally (with a green slip from the post office). The cost of release was for goods worth $120.00 was:

(a) GST of 7% - 261B

( Duty - 177B

© Handling - 50B

Total 488B - with a receipt.

Biggest pain was the post office did not tell me that it was at customs, so I had to do my own search.

Customs was about a 4 hour drive away but was just near immigration & I had to go for a 90 day there at the same time.

Edited October 16, 2013 by BuriramRes

[clockman]

From America use usps registered mail, No problem.

[bobnuts]

I'd go with the regular post service as well but would note that on 2 occasions I can recall small parcels have gone missing. Nothing of any real value but annoying none the less. Apparently a P.O. Box is considered more secure but I have no experience of that.

[monkeyboots]

Just received a gift of clothes for my newborns from UK (valued at 2000bht (half a kg). At least, I've just received notice that they are at the Post Office and I can pick them up for 800 baht. Why did I receive another 2kg box of clothes from the UK last month from another relative which came straight to my address without P.O. interception and money requests? Both were sent by regular post not courier services.

Am I missing something?

[seajae]

A friend was telling me yesterday that the post office had contacted him for a duty payment he had purchased a pair of shoes/trainers in the USA via ebay at a cost of 3,000 baht the import duty demanded was 6,000 baht . he has now filled a form in at the post office on appeal and has requested that customs review the charge as there is not a 200% duty on shoes he has also told them that if they are insistant that he has to pay such an obscene amount to keep them. Last month his wife ordered a kitchen product from the UK for 2,500 baht the duty was 7 baht maybe she used her Thai name just a thought.

I have 50 cubic mtr in boxes coming from the UK they are personal posession's and I have to be honest I am expecting to get stung big time !!!!!

I appealed when they demanded 1200 baht on a $20 item but they just resent the original charge again. Its take it or leave it and they told me they dont go on the claimed price but on what they think it is worth.

[BudRight]

As has been said by others, in Thailand customs just steal your stuff and ransom it back to you.

In the US, they force open every package, dig through it and break everything, then reseal it halfassed and leave it in the rain.

[Rigs]

H90. Do you work for customs because it's not DHL or any other delivery company that is holding the parcels up. It's customs and the Thai Governments decision to raise taxs on imported goods. They want you to buy locally.

[harrry]

Just received a gift of clothes for my newborns from UK (valued at 2000bht (half a kg). At least, I've just received notice that they are at the Post Office and I can pick them up for 800 baht. Why did I receive another 2kg box of clothes from the UK last month from another relative which came straight to my address without P.O. interception and money requests? Both were sent by regular post not courier services.

Am I missing something?

Yes...you should have paid on the first shippment. they made a mistake so of course you are going to go and pay them for that being an honest person.

[SeabagsFull]

I've been there, Lopburi99. In the summer of 2004, I had my daughter package up & UPS me two large packages; which included over 220 CDs, a Klipsch computer speaker system, a Quasar Panasonic camcorder, & a few other things. She paid up-front anticipated customs duties & included a Packing List inside the boxes.

I got a call from Bangkok Customs a couple of weeks later saying that the paperwork was missing from the packages, that they would have to open them up to do an inventory. A couple of days later, they called back to say I had to pay nearly 47,000 baht Customs. Personal choice: the stuff was worth it to me, so I paid. But I was shocked beyond comprehension, & I had to pause to recollect my perspectives.

Edited October 16, 2013 by SeabagsFull

[benalibina]

I've been there, Lopburi99. In the summer of 2004, I had my daughter package up & UPS me two large packages; which included over 220 CDs, a Klipsch computer speaker system, a Quasar Panasonic camcorder, & a few other things. She paid up-front anticipated customs duties & included a Packing List inside the boxes.

I got a call from Bangkok Customs a couple of weeks later saying that the paperwork was missing from the packages, that they would have to open them up to do an inventory. A couple of days later, they called back to say I had to pay nearly 47,000 baht Customs. Personal choice: the stuff was worth it to me, so I paid. But I was shocked beyond comprehension, & I had to pause to recollect my perspectives.

On your last sentence; still ongoing by reading your posts. Lol.

[harrry]

I've been there, Lopburi99. In the summer of 2004, I had my daughter package up & UPS me two large packages; which included over 220 CDs, a Klipsch computer speaker system, a Quasar Panasonic camcorder, & a few other things. She paid up-front anticipated customs duties & included a Packing List inside the boxes.

I got a call from Bangkok Customs a couple of weeks later saying that the paperwork was missing from the packages, that they would have to open them up to do an inventory. A couple of days later, they called back to say I had to pay nearly 47,000 baht Customs. Personal choice: the stuff was worth it to me, so I paid. But I was shocked beyond comprehension, & I had to pause to recollect myperspectives.

Sounds quite reasonable to me. 100000bahts worth of very high tax rate items plus freitght. tax 30% vat 7%. (Mixed packages all get assesses at the tax rate fo the highest taced item in the package)

[misterphil]

I got so fed up with paying customs tax on items i had posted here i stopped ordering from out of Thailand. It was a joke, paying customs tax on birthday gifts even when the damn package was ticked as gift. I dont know whether the thai post does it on purpose to encourage us to buy in country or just a scam. Anyway they dont get 1 baht from me anymore. Would rather do without than pay customs tax again. .

[bangkokstick]

Really ? You haven't read one of the 100000000 posts explaining that it is stupid and ridiculous to use a courier company ?

[harrry]

I got so fed up with paying customs tax on items i had posted here i stopped ordering from out of Thailand. It was a joke, paying customs tax on birthday gifts even when the dam_n package was ticked as gift. I dont know whether the thai post does it on purpose to encourage us to buy in country or just a scam. Anyway they dont get 1 baht from me anymore. Would rather do without than pay customs tax again. .

Gifts are taxable in all countries. Sometimes some countries have a limit on which they will allow no tax on all personal imports. In Australia it is $1000 (this is actually per year but not enforced) here it is 1000baht. Some do not allow any credit. Imagine packaging a ferari as a gift and then importing it into the US....you sure would pay tax.

[bangkokstick]

I got so fed up with paying customs tax on items i had posted here i stopped ordering from out of Thailand. It was a joke, paying customs tax on birthday gifts even when the dam_n package was ticked as gift. I dont know whether the thai post does it on purpose to encourage us to buy in country or just a scam. Anyway they dont get 1 baht from me anymore. Would rather do without than pay customs tax again. .

All the orders we sent abroad are declared as "Gift/Sample" and some customers still have to pay tax because customs just don't care anywhere in the world, not only here.

[uptheos]

I'll let you know how many baht they want from me. I am this close to telling them to keep the damned thing.

Maybe if everybody would tell them that, then cancel payment if a credit card was used, they'd straighten up.

Er, no.

Good luck, either way. Let us know.

How can you cancel (get return) of payment, because you don't want to pay custom fees?

[h90]

I got so fed up with paying customs tax on items i had posted here i stopped ordering from out of Thailand. It was a joke, paying customs tax on birthday gifts even when the dam_n package was ticked as gift. I dont know whether the thai post does it on purpose to encourage us to buy in country or just a scam. Anyway they dont get 1 baht from me anymore. Would rather do without than pay customs tax again. .

All the orders we sent abroad are declared as "Gift/Sample" and some customers still have to pay tax because customs just don't care anywhere in the world, not only here.

Or customs know that you are doing a fraud on them by declaring orders as gifts/samples.

A few weeks ago Austrian customs informed me that samples must be made unusable, like drilling a hole into it, to qualify as free samples. Else the usual value must be declared and import duty paid, even if it was sent for free.

[nontabury]

Mistakes can be made and are daily in all fields of life but courier companies are simply following the law and collecting for customs not themselves. The fees that they charge for customs clearance can be avoided if you clear customs yourselves.

And unless your time has no value you probably don't want to clear customs yourself.

As for mistakes DHL etc are like going to fast food place low fees for low quality service. Go to a high quality broker or do it yourself don't blame others.

I have had many problems with DHL etc but I don't have extra time to do it myself and no interest. Sometimes for a larger shipment like your person household belongings I use a good broker and it is a pleasure. (no duty at all when we moved to Thailand)

I may be wrong but i think if you import personal affects within one year of moving to Thailand, there is no custom charges. How long after you moved here did you bring in your personal belongings?.

[harrry]

Mistakes can be made and are daily in all fields of life but courier companies are simply following the law and collecting for customs not themselves. The fees that they charge for customs clearance can be avoided if you clear customs yourselves.

And unless your time has no value you probably don't want to clear customs yourself.

As for mistakes DHL etc are like going to fast food place low fees for low quality service. Go to a high quality broker or do it yourself don't blame others.

I have had many problems with DHL etc but I don't have extra time to do it myself and no interest. Sometimes for a larger shipment like your person household belongings I use a good broker and it is a pleasure. (no duty at all when we moved to Thailand)

I may be wrong but i think if you import personal affects within one year of moving to Thailand, there is no custom charges. How long after you moved here did you bring in your personal belongings?.

You are probably wrong,

You can only import personal effects if you have a work permit and it must be within 6 months of comming. Also the definition (worldwide) of personal belongings may not be yours.

[Traveling Sailor]

The parcel companies in the UK are doing the same 'clearance fee' rip off. Got fed up and challenged it, telling them I had not authorised them to do anything. They told me it was too complicated for people to do themselves and was automatic. I refused to pay and cited the law that it is illegal to withhold mail (here anyway). They sent the parcel to me, and now I have 'customs clearance by recipient' written on anything I buy from abroad, it's dead easy, all the charges are on the web and I even used it to successfully challenge a rating band.

The problem is that this rip off now makes it not worth importing anything low value, once there was a chance it would get through with no charge, now the parcel companies make darn sure everything is presented for inspection so they get their cut.

One way to get around this problem, if the package is not too heavy, is to send it Registered or Priority Mail. I regularly have things sent from the US via the post office. I pay $61.75 in postage for a 30 oz package worth $248. When it gets to Thailand Customs I get a notice telling me to show up at the local customs house (all in Thai). They have me sign a document, open the package and pay 1263 baht. As long as I keep my friendly smile, no problem.

As an added bonus, I get to have emails sent to me that alert me to the progress of my package. When the email shows that it has cleared Thai customs, I know to expect a notice in the mail within 10 days. If it does not show, or if too much time passes between the time the package enters Thailand and the time it clears customs, I can print out the email and take it to the local post office. In most cases, the post office staff is friendly and helpful. Having a Thai "translator" helps immensely. :-)

Edited October 17, 2013 by Traveling Sailor

[glassdude007]

few months back i was in the states and sent three seperate things to Thailand via USA Post.

No rhyme or reason for the customs charges or the time for shipping ETC.

Shipment 1, was a 25 dollar portable gas BBQ in its own box about 11 pounds cost 70 USD to ship and 1400bht to pick up at post office in Rawai shipping time was about 2 weeks as promised.

Shipment 2, was a big box 18 pounds of clothes and assorted items that i can not get in Thailand value of 300 dollars. When I shipped it via USA post i insured it for 200 dollars total shipping price was 90 dollars as i recall arrived at Rawai post office less than 2 weeks picked up with

NO FEE REQUIRED ?? Why I do not know..

Shipment 3, Was just a bankcard mailed first class registerd USA mailed day after Shipment 2, cost 12 usd, took over a month to arrive at my house in Rawai...Why I do not know...should have put the card in shipment 2 box but wanted it mailed secure and quick...hahahaha