Hi..

can anyone shed some light on how to import into thailand. I have a 20 foot shipping container in sydney australia full of my personal items, all items are used. I have been as usual in thailand going around in circles with no one able to assist with, names of companies who import, do i pay tax on importing used personal effects etc...any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated...thanks

First thing you do is contact an export agency in Sydney.They will organise everything for you re shipping to Thailand.

Second thing is to organise a clearance agent here, who will organise all formalities & whatever taxes are due.He should also be able to organise trucking.

I suggest you contact the Thailand agent first & see if they need any more paperwork then the standard manifest.

In Sydney, yellow pages look under forwarding agents.

In Thailand Google search if you are stuck I can give you a name of an agent, just send me a PM.

Good Luck.

Thailand clearing agents, here is a start:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=custom+clearing+agents+in+thailand

do i pay tax on importing used personal effects etc...any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated

yes unless your a returning Thai national or entering the country to work, in the case of working you have 6 months to bring your stuff in tax free

You are going to pay whatever the agent that is assigned to your shipment demands

Some get lucky and pay little or nothing, others get a real surprise, and still others pay under the table

Unfortunately you won't know until it arrives if you won or lost the lottery that is The Royal Thai Customs Service

do i pay tax on importing used personal effects etc...any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated

yes unless your a returning Thai national or entering the country to work, in the case of working you have 6 months to bring your stuff in tax free

Not quite correct.

Thailand makes a clear distinction between "Household effects" and "Personal effects"

IMPORTING USED / SECONDHAND HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS

Returning Thai residents who have been abroad for one year or longer, for the purposes other than touring are eligible to bring in household effects acquired abroad free of taxes and duties. In addition, nonresidents changing their residence to Thailand may import the household effects subject to the conditions stated below without payment of import taxes duties.

The term “household effects” includes all goods which are normally necessary to equip a self-contained home e.g. furniture, carpets, books, musical instruments, paintings, tableware, stereos, linens, and similar household furnishings, etc. To be eligible for tax and duty free allowance, the importers are required to have owned, possessed, and used the household effects before they return to Thailand to resume residence. It is important that the importers meet the three requirements of ownership, possession, and use. For example, if they owned and possessed the goods without using them, the goods would be subject to regular taxes and duties. Personal effects accompanied with the owner traveling into or out of Thailand, including any goods used or will be used commercially are not eligible as household effects and cannot brought in tax and duty free as the household effects. NOTE: Motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and tobacco are excluded from this relief.

http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/individuals/importing+used+or+secondhand+household+effects/importingusedsecondhandhouseholdeffects+

Patrick

We successfully brought in a container tax free last year based on TW being a returning Thai national. Note that the one year out of the country is continuous. No visits to Thailand for the last full 12 months before shipping.

Contact a removal company. Crown relocations or Asian tigers. (Other removal companies are available) They will tell you all you need to know, and what you can expect to pay from A to B.