Do I need a Company or Work Permit to Import Goods to Thailand?

[Skins]

This ties in to my previous thread in this section but I thought it was worth making another post. Before I was asking about hiring Thai's. Here I am just concerned with importing goods to Thailand.

Has anyone here imported goods to Thailand? My business would be importing goods from over seas and selling them here. Can I get by without a company? Can I just get a work permit or import permit for this?

I came across this link. http://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-law/import-and-export-license-in-thailand/

"The import/export business appeals to many foreign entrepreneurs in Thailand because it is a line of business that is not restricted by the Foreign Business Act of 1999. This means that a foreigner can engage in an import/export business without a 51% Thai shareholder or without having to apply for permission from the Thai government. Another appealing factor is that there is no overarching law regulating the import of goods, which means that generally speaking, goods may be imported into Thailand without restriction. However, Thai law does restrict the import of specific goods."

I'm pretty sure my product is not restricted and does not require a permit. This link I posted makes it seem too easy... What am I missing here? I'm not going to put a few million baht in the bank here so forget that. If I can get a work permit or import license then I will pursue this.

Anyone have any experience with this? I will be talking with Sunbelt and another attorney tomorrow. Let me know if any of you have dealt with this business in Thailand. Thanks!

[Noi657]

What's the product?

[noendtoit]

Anybody can import anything legal. but it stops there. If you are selling you are in business. Selling is not importing; it;s the next step. Talking to the lawyers is a good idea. You'll definitely need either a work permit or a company or both. Be advised that there are a ton of fees at the port on anything you import (on top of any applicable taxes). Small shipments become economically unfeasible.

[brimacthai]

If you're importing to Thailand you're going to need a import/export license. Cheap to get but you'll need a company. There are some port charges etc to pay when the goods arrive (not sure about a ton of fees) and you will have to pay VAT (7%) on the value of the goods. You will need the original of the invoice from the seller.

And of course you will need to pay duty. This can be anything from exempt (good luck with that one though) to 20%. Some good can be higher I believe.

We import goods from Australia and Singapore. If you want I can give you the name of the freight company we use. We're happy with their services and always get us great deals on freight.

PM me for that info.

If you are going to sell the goods (legally) you're going to need a company for that. Though you may just need a basic Thai company... again this depends on what your goal is and the value of the goods.

One last thing... get a ruling on the duty before your goods ship. Once they are in Thailand and you leave it up to customs you can pay more than you should. If they rule beforehand you will have a good idea on the actual duty rate. At the end of the day no matter what's written... it's their call.

Good luck with your new idea!

Edited July 16, 2014 by brimacthai

[1FinickyOne]

I don't have any specific experience but as a retired businessman, what you might be missing is this:

Importing the items might be perfectly legal, but you might quite likely require a company if you are selling these goods here.

It is in the selling that you earn a profit and that would be taxed.

The importing is an innocuous step. For example, if you were to buy 20 chickens one day in the market, there is nothing wrong with that. If you open a restaurant and sell kao man kgai - that is entirely different. Just as if someone brings in a container load of furniture. If for personal use, no big deal.

[Eric Loh]

Concur with what most said. You can import as long as you don't sell which opens up a different set of regulations involving tax, VAT, duties etc. However you can cicumvent this by letting your buyers import themselves. That is to say, you sell the goods but take no part in the importation. Function like a representative office. You can read that up.

[Tatsujin]

The legalities of this you are looking into, but don't forget the practicalities.

You are going to have to deal with "customs" at some point, and this is where it all falls apart. Whatever they tell you the "import tax" might be, it actually will be a lot higher + they will find other charges/costs to hit you with, so planning what actual costs are in advance to import an item are meaningless as they will almost certainly be far higher than you are told/expect which effectively wipes out a great deal of any profit you might intend to make.

If you're lucky you'll be ok importing items a few times without getting hit too hard, but at some point you're going to get hit and hit hard with additional import costs (bribes) UNLESS you have good relationships with someone personally.

[Skins]

Concur with what most said. You can import as long as you don't sell which opens up a different set of regulations involving tax, VAT, duties etc. However you can cicumvent this by letting your buyers import themselves. That is to say, you sell the goods but take no part in the importation. Function like a representative office. You can read that up.

Thanks for weighing in everyone I appreciate it. I want to import products and sell them here. I am trying to figure out a way to do this without 2,000,000 baht in a Thai bank account. I simply don't have that amount of capital.

I don't want to do anything illegal but if I can work within some kind of loop hole that would be great. I was thinking of hiring Thai's to sell my products to businesses and then drop shipping direct to these businesses. Or perhaps getting a work permit and approaching these businesses myself.

For what it's worth I have already imported a shipment for personal use and gifts. It arrived at my door step with zero problems. Yes I do have some connections within Thailand for this.

In regards to Sunbelt and Siam Legal. It seems they operate like every other business in Thailand. They don't answer phone calls or emails so I will have to go bang on their door in person.

Chok Dee krup

[Jaggg88]

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Anybody can import anything legal. but it stops there. If you are selling you are in business. Selling is not importing; it;s the next step. Talking to the lawyers is a good idea. You'll definitely need either a work permit or a company or both. Be advised that there are a ton of fees at the port on anything you import (on top of any applicable taxes). Small shipments become economically unfeasible.

The import duties on some goods make it unpractical, but if you do import anything you must use a local shipping agent who can negotiate with customs on your behalf. Many people have had to abandon their goods because the import duty is more than the value - this can even apply to imported personal items.

[Maestro]

Thanks for weighing in everyone I appreciate it. I want to import products and sell them here. I am trying to figure out a way to do this without 2,000,000 baht in a Thai bank account. I simply don't have that amount of capital...

You do not need two million Baht in a Thai bank account to register a company.

[Skins]

Thanks for weighing in everyone I appreciate it. I want to import products and sell them here. I am trying to figure out a way to do this without 2,000,000 baht in a Thai bank account. I simply don't have that amount of capital...

You do not need two million Baht in a Thai bank account to register a company.

Thanks. Maybe I'm just confused... I read somewhere about having a few mill in the Bank here. Also, hiring Thai's which is no problem. I'm trying to speak with an attorney to answer some of these questions. Sunbelt did call me back and the gentlemen took the time to speak with me and answer some questions. I greatly appreciated that but of course, as soon as I hung up the phone I had more questions.

I found out my product needs FDA approval... Which may already be sorted but I need to find out.