16 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Remember the golden rule in Thailand. If your parcel gets into the hands of a dishonest or incompetent jerk in customs, he will make up his own rules and you will enter a never ending drama of irrealistic customs duty fares with the "special farang rate". 

 

A law/tarification can be clearly written in a decree,  but it can be totally different and re interpreted by any official looking to hassle.

 

 

Doesn't even have to be a clerk at customs, can be anyone in the Thai postal system

 

I ordered a brand new Pixel 2 phone from Google in the US and had it shipped to a US mail forwarder, who put it into the US International Mail system.  Since I had to fill out the custom forms I was honest, " Chinese manufactured mobile phone, value $600".  I was able to track if from LAX to Bangkok where is disappeared after getting to Laksi Post Office in Bangkok

 

I went to my local PO with the tracking and they looked it up and gave me a form to take to Customs at Lam Chabang. Got there and they copied my Passport face page but then suddenly the parcel was no longer there.  It had been sent to an office in Bangkok and to get it I would have to go to Bangkok and obtain an import permit to bring a "communications device" into the Kingdom.  I kid you not, they really wanted me to obtain an import permit for a cell phone.  I was told that if I did not obtain the permit the item would be returned to the Thai Postal system in 60 days and be returned to sender

 

Well true to their word in showed back up in the system 60 days later when it was returned to Laksi but never made it back to the sender (me) and  disappeared again.  Shipper paid claim after is did not show up for another three months.  Saga started in March and ended in August 

Apparently the super intelligent professional people who work for the Thai Government think a pair of trousers are luxury items. Not that anyone at Udon Thani Post Office can be bothered to phone my wife to tell her to come and get screwed over.

[Insert profanity here]