importing items from alibaba into thailand....advice needed

[dirtycash]

i am toying with the idea of opening a small store. buying items say for instance toys , dolls or childrens shoes, ladies handbags, boys baseball boots and training shoes etc . will i pay duty on these items when they come in via china or india etc. i need any advice about buying off alibaba and what are the pitfalls of such a business adventure .

THANKS

D.C

[Soutpeel]

Yes you will pay import tax

[hugocnx]

We imported machinery from China. With a Certificate of Origin from the Chinese manufacturer, we did not pay import duties due to pacts between China and Thailand. What we still payed was customs commision and the likes.

Ok, machinery is different from what you are going to import and it is for retail and not for self use.

You probably are going to need an import license as well.

[gamini]

I have ordered quite a few small things from them in the past. Unlike eBay and Amazon they put "sample value $10" on the outside of the parcel which helps to avoid paying any duty.
They seem to be very efficient and honest and when I had a dispute with them over a delay in delivery they were very quick to make a full refund.

[wayned]

Alibaba is an e-commerce company, similar to e-bay. They provide sales services via web portals. They also provide electronic payment services, a shopping search engine and data-centric cloud computing services services. They do not ship any products directly themselves and all payments are made in US dollars. The shipping method and paperwork is handled by the individual companies that provide the paperwork. Anything that arrives valued less than 1000 baht is not subject to customs and VAT.

I have ordered many things through Aliexpress and also direct from the companies that they represent. Due to some export legislation internal to China I have to pay for all products in USD. I have a logistics company in Bangkok handle all of my large imports and pay duties and VAT through them. They also arrange delivery in Thailand.

[rwdrwdrwd]

Technically import tax is due, but I must say that the majority of items I buy from China/HK sail through Thai customs without charges being applied, unlike those from the US/EU.

Had an android box come the other day from HK bought for 40% cheaper than (an older) model on sale in Thailand and valued at 3000 baht sent tracked with DHL - was expecting fees but none applied at all.

Edited July 26, 2015 by rwdrwdrwd

[shaurene]

You will need to form a business, you will need an import licence, you will not be buying from Alibaba you will be buying from their members. Make sure they have been approved by Alibaba, Gold Member Etc.

We are importers in New Zealand I am based in KHon KAEN we supply a Thai company with Dehumidifiers.

China and Thailand are now part of APEC (Asia pacific Econ co operative) there are 22 countries in APEC 2015 should now be duty free between the members but you will need to show country of origin certificate from China with all your ducuments.

With the goods you mentioned you should try going down to Bangkok Pratunam market areas. We. We're planning opening shops in Spain and the prices from Pratunam markets were matching China prices, all sorts clothes, Shoes from China Town, jewelery, toys, you name it all there, save you lot of money and customs hassle.

Contact me direct through Visa I will let you know most what you need. Buying from China most want minimum quantities possible to much for you.

Ken Devey

[LivinLOS]

I have been needing to buy items from china not available here..

No matter what the item, no matter that its clearly labelled in price.. Customs make up a number 2 to 3 times the items value and tax me on that.. No amount of spitting the dummy, demanding they look at the declared value.. showing invoices, receipts, emails, or anything else will get the assessment changed. I feel sorry for my post office as they are only the messenger.. sending it back to be reassessed took weeks and they took 10 bucks off the assessment still leaving it more than double the real price.

Now sometimes I will have them under declare it.. OK then I get caught fair enough.. But the majority of times these are very cheap, but large light (foam) items.. It really is a 30 buck package but they simply see a big box and without ever opening it or checking it.. make it 5 or 6000 baht 'assessed value' even tho the label says 29 usd..

The fat they just ignore the value declaration is pissing me off now.. last month I had 1 or 2 of these a week.. Its bad enough being taxed 37% on everything.. But when they make up the number to start the calculation from based on nothing at all just 'big box' its galling.

[Cappella]

Hi,

My company has been importing electronics from China for over a year now, we only pay customs & vat when the shipment is done through DHL or FedEx, none of the other shipments (registered air parcels) had any tax beside a small surcharge by the local post office if the package is larger/heavier than a certain size/weight (7 to 50 baht). Registered parcels usually arrive within 1-2 weeks, so we never bother to have shipments by DHL/FedEx anymore unless it's an emergency or very sensitive & expensive equipment.

Larger shipments (pallets, ...) that go through the customs are guaranteed to be taxed, it's also a long and painful process every time, and if they suspect there is a falang involved, they will try to screw you (happened multiple times to one of our customers), so we stay away from that kind of shipments.

[ozyjon]

Interesting topic, i am also an Alibaba member but not

importing into Thailand, i am now in Europe to avoid the rainy

season, i saw a documentary last night on Discovery that

vaguely mentioned Alibaba but strongly China, it seems that

in USA the trade of pirated goods aka, knock offs are turning

into a 50 billion dollar industry (wow) many people are turning

away from selling drugs to selling fake Rolex and Gucci, there

are container loads of fake goods being sent to USA ports

daily but how they do it now is that rather than sending a

complete item, they send eg; a Gucci bag in pieces to various

locations (customs can't prosecute for importing clasps,zippers

handles etc) it then goes to a factory, assembled then sold

on the streets,, it's mind boggling, do people stay awake at night

thinking these things up,, i just wanted to share this with you to

know what goes on in this world. Thank you.

[hugocnx]

Nothing new here. This kind of loop has been used for decades already.

At least it provides some labor in the US then, so win win situation I would say.

[gleeglee]

There is a free trade agreement with China as long as you are a legal Thai company you can import most things at 0% import tariff . you will need the supplier to issue you a FORM E a pink document that makes the goods duty except , they will send you a copy with a B/L but the originals must be sent from China for customs in Thailand , so no you dont have to pay import duty just tax and vat

[gleeglee]

Are you aware that DHL , Fedex and the other major express postage companies add transport costs onto your shipment before they tax you, on the full amount. It is not customs it is the postal companies that are over taxing you as they get a % of what they raise for the government,

I have had several arguments with fedex and Dhl and have even got my lawyer involved and did get my money back that they had over charged me. But normally they are unbending, the best way is by sea with a FORM E document that makes the goods import tariff at 0%

[wayned]

The customs duty due is CIF Bangkok. That means that you will pay duty on Charges, Insurance and Freight, so any shipping charges including port charges in Bangkok will be added before the duty is applied. VAT is levied on the entire amount CIF + duty.

I use a broker in Bangkok, a foreign Company, and I have never had to pay duty on any amount higher than the invoice that I provide plus port charges and I have imported full 40' containers of farm equipment. You really need a reputable broker who understands the HS coding system and sees that the proper code is applied. As an example, I import gatherer chains for corn combines, they are repair parts for the combine. If they are properly coded 8432.90, combine repair parts, they are taxed at 5%. If they are incorrectly coded as "roller chains" (forgot the code), they will be taxed at 10%. PM me an I will send you my broker's contact info.

For small items from China, I try to get my suppliers to use China Post and have never had a problem. On the other hand,DHL and Fed Ex are a joke!

[mike324]

I'm assuming you are only buying a handful of pieces 5-10? It will most likely not be bulk order so, yes you may be taxed based on the size of the parcel you received as well as the value indicated. I order random stuff on Aliexpress as well, most of time its a small box and customs don't tax. But I did have a shipment where the seller wrote down $500 instead of $50, and I got taxed even though I tried explaining to the customs the value written was wrong.

You are also more likely to be taxed for items that are medium size or above no matter the value. Thai customs will reassess the value themselves if they don't believe whats written on the declaration.

I'm guessing you will be buying items under $30, which shouldn't be much of a problem. But do note, items can take up to 2 months to deliver from China. Try to buy from sellers with a few ratings, they tend to be more reliable. I would say Ali express is pretty safe overall as Alibaba only release the shipment once you confirm that you received the item.

[farang000999]

So a farang can legally open a small store like the OP wants to do? I thought that was a no-no.

[dirtycash]

I will open a store but a thai friend will do the selling and ordering etc. Thats if it even happens.

Thanks for the info

[farang000999]

is the company going to be in your name or theirs?

what about the lease?

[h90]

Need Form E...than not all things are without duty, but I think most. Product must not be express cleared. So that only helps on bigger shipments.