Thai customs to enforce duty-free limits on overseas purchases

BANGKOK: -- The B10,000 duty-free limit on new personal items purchased overseas by incoming air passengers is now being strictly policed, the Customs Department announced last week.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Control Customs Bureau will calculate the value of all personal items - souvenirs, gifts or brandname goods - purchased overseas. If the combined value of those products exceed B10,000, passengers and airline crew will have to pay import duty.

Signs announcing enforcement of the limit were placed at the airport, explaining that "personal goods" includes new clothes, shoes, socks and bags in non-commercial form.

If goods being brought into Thailand exceed the limit, they must be declared to customs officials and the duty paid before their baggage go through the X-ray machine. Any undeclared items will be seized and the owners may have to pay up to four times of the value including plus the duty.

The department said food, food supplements and cosmetic will not get the duty waiver. Travellers are limited to 200 duty free cigarettes and one litre of duty free liquor or wine.

Gifts prepared to give to other people, donated items, collectable items, second-hand goods, empty watch and brandname bag boxes are not considered as personal items. Individuals bringing in these products have to inform customs officials before the baggage X-ray.

Expensive new watches or bags worth more than B10,000 will be liable to duty, even if being worn.

Somchai Asawadtriratanakul, the bureau’s chief of investigation and suppression division, said the regulation was an existing one, but enforcement will be stricter. The bureau found many people brought in new products for resale in Thailand without paying import duty. Action had to be taken to prevent this.

Initially, signs were posted at arrival and departure areas. If duty-payable goods are found undeclared in possession of a passenger who refuses to allow the goods to be seized, the case will go to court, he said.

If the passenger loses the case, the smuggled goods will be seized and they would be liable to a fine of four times the assessed value, including the import duty, and/or a prison term of up to 10 years.

-- Phuket Gazette 2014-07-06

That will be very bad for tourists - especially those en route from places such as Hong Kong

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I'm confused , did't they say the limit was 100000 yesterday

Way to go to bring back the tourists . . . <deleted> . . . this is akin to what they normally do in the bars, hotels and restaurants when trade is slow . . . instead of lowering prices, they double them . . . mad, mad country this is. Please bring back some "logic".

So all that's needed is a receipt for these goods from a shop in Thailand, yes?

I can see a new business springing up ?

So just think about the logistics of this, maybe 20 customs booths open at any one time, processing maybe 20 people a minute, that will be funneled into one x-ray machine on departure, Hub of bottle necks .....

Does this mean that tourist have to pay tax on their iPhone or laptop apon entry into thailand ?

So how is this handled for tourists ? Do they declare then pay import taxes over the value of Bt,10,000. 2 weeks later when their holiday is finished do they claim the import taxes back when they exit with the same goods they entered with ?

On the flipside can I now import goods up to the value of Bt,10,000 and not fear I will get stooged with import duties/taxes ?

£180 worth of goods?

What they are saying is that they don't want ANYONE to spend money outside of Thailand.

Greedy bastards.

I really hope this ends up biting them in the backside.

All this is going to achieve is large queues at the customs with a lot more stoppages and more ways for the corrupt customs to extort tea money out of passengers.

Lmao at all the chicken littles on this thread.

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nothing like OLD NEWS ...the Customs have already withdrawn this bull...they are going to update the restriction to 100.000 baht (already the money limit for taking out of Thailand has been raised from 50,000 baht to 490,000 baht....I saw the new sign at Sadao customs yesterday)

talk about throw the baby out with the bathwater

idiots

Lmao at all the chicken littles on this thread.

And what does that mean exactly ?

&lt;deleted&gt; my parents suitcases cost more than 10,000 baht

"Gifts prepared to give to other people, donated items, collectable items, second-hand goods, empty watch and brandname bag boxes are not considered as personal items".

LOS -- Land Of Sillyloopholes

nothing like OLD NEWS ...the Customs have already withdrawn this bull...they are going to update the restriction to 100.000 baht (already the money limit for taking out of Thailand has been raised from 50,000 baht to 490,000 baht....I saw the new sign at Sadao customs yesterday)

Thanks was quite sure they changed it. So why does TV post old news

I think I read they were considering increasing it to THB100,000, but it wasn't clear by when. Anyone recently travelled in through customs?

Throw the box and receipt in the bin in HKG before you come back. Next question.

my parents suitcases cost more than 10,000 baht

Lol - exactly what I was going to say.

Next time i leave Thailand on business, the samsonite & laptopwill have to stay behind. Gonna be a canvas bag & a ZX81

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Throw the box and receipt in the bin in HKG before you come back. Next question.

Lol thanks

How the hell will they know I'm wearing a new watch or if someone is carrying a new bag, people do go shopping before coming to thailand, time for them to put brain in gear before releasing statments, or run it past the junta first, maybe they have a 'this policy is from an idiot' filter

Can't wait to see them searching travelling Thai government officials and industry trade show exhibitors.

Phuket Gazette is a little slow, it's an old news and since then customs removed the signs and announced business as usual. Shortly after they were talking about increasing the limits.

More discussion in this earlier topic here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/739023-thai-customs-for-passengers-travelling-in-and-out-of-thailand/

"Gifts prepared to give to other people, donated items, collectable items, second-hand goods, empty watch and brandname bag boxes are not considered as personal items".

LOS -- Land Of Sillyloopholes

perhaps it might help to explain what "is" considered a personal item because strictly speaking - everything that is not "new" is "second hand" and that just about covers everything that your body didn't grow

Phuket Gazette is a little slow, it's an old news and since then customs removed the signs and announced business as usual. Shortly after they were talking about increasing the limits.

More discussion in this earlier topic here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/739023-thai-customs-for-passengers-travelling-in-and-out-of-thailand/

yes rather confusing as I read the original article

Which is which..i am confused as always by the thai government..

South Korea simply forces the credit card companies to flag any large purchases.

"Gifts prepared to give to other people, donated items, collectable items, second-hand goods, empty watch and brandname bag boxes are not considered as personal items".

LOS -- Land Of Sillyloopholes

No this is NOT a loophole - this is a gotcha - any of the above DO NOT GET DUTY FREE EXEMPTION - so you have to pay full duty on any items that fall under this category.

It's the same in places like Australia and Britain.

And only yesterday I read somewhere online that Thailand had dropped out of the top 10 list of best

Cities in the World.

Way to go to bring back the tourists . . . morons . . . this is akin to what they normally do in the bars, hotels and restaurants when trade is slow . . . instead of lowering prices, they double them . . . mad, mad country this is. Please bring back some "logic".

Tsk, tsk, tsk! Farang cannot understand Thainess...