Just got done by customs on my Christmas Care Package.

[DLang]

Just got the notice for 800thb to be paid.

 

Will be an expensive chocolate bar and packet of crisps. 

 

The ol' mother means well haha.

 

Anybody else having to pay to collect your Xmas presents? 

[godblessemall]

Tesco Lotus has big bars of Tesco dark or Milk (fruit & nuts) chocolate which i'm certain is Cadbury's rebadged for 65 Baht a bar... good value..... and I was lucky to find McVities chocolate digestives reduced in price too.

 

[ezzra]

 

I think those custom guys are waiting all year for the holiday seasons to be

upon us so they can stick their fangs into the pockets of people who get

family packages from home and to be able to celebrate with mom's cookies

and jams... they will not allow you the pleasure, pay first, enjoy later....

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Always put Thai name when possible 

[Artisi]

46 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Always put Thai name when possible 

Send your mum a few sheets of paper with a Thai name and Thai address (in Thai ) - it is only necessary to write "Thailand " in the address for the other end.

[i claudius]

My familly always send any parcel to us addressed to my wife and in Thai , just like when we came to live here we shipped everything to my sister in laws in my wifes name and they went to the dock , we were advised that this was the only way not to get stung , its always worked .the one time a paecel was sent to me with the address in english , they tried to get a load of money off me , i hope they enjoyed the catering size marmite .

[johng]

even a Thai name and address written in Thai is not always safe. :-(

[Johnniey]

My mother has been sending packages here for over 30 years and I've never once had to pay customs anything.

 

She used to send all my kids comics and presents at least every month. Also, birthdays and Xmas. 

 

But, this year she has said it is too expensive to send stuff and is going to stop in the future.

[i claudius]

23 minutes ago, Johnniey said:

My mother has been sending packages here for over 30 years and I've never once had to pay customs anything.

 

She used to send all my kids comics and presents at least every month. Also, birthdays and Xmas. 

 

But, this year she has said it is too expensive to send stuff and is going to stop in the future.

My daughter was saying this only the other day ,its getting beyond a joke , i notice the cards we recieved this xmas , cost more to post one than the 7 i sent from here .

[chickenslegs]

 

11 hours ago, DLang said:

Will be an expensive chocolate bar and packet of crisps. 

 

The ol' mother means well haha.

 

I thought gifts of less than 1,000 THB value were exempt from duty.

 

Anyway, next year tell mother to send the biggest bar of laxative chocolate she can find. Then, when customs ask for the duty, tell them they can keep it. 

[chickenslegs]

6 hours ago, Johnniey said:

My mother has been sending packages here for over 30 years and I've never once had to pay customs anything.

 

She used to send all my kids comics and presents at least every month. Also, birthdays and Xmas. 

 

But, this year she has said it is too expensive to send stuff and is going to stop in the future.

 

Can't remember which TV member recommended this website, but my family in the UK has used it several times to get the best prices for deliveries to Thailand. http://www.postagesupermarket.com/discounted_postage_from_UK_to_Thailand.php

[steven100]

Unfortunately it's the law on any importation of goods.

Same in any other country.

 

Just bad luck they chose your package.

[Strange]

4 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Unfortunately it's the law on any importation of goods.

Same in any other country.

 

Just bad luck they chose your package.

 

Not in my country. Never in my life paid to import anything. Not once. 

[AlQaholic]

What's the deal sending packages from abroad for Christmas?? Surely nowadays you can find anything here in Thailand that you can find at home?

 

Christmas care package, sounds like something you would get as a POW

[mania]

23 minutes ago, Strange said:

 

Not in my country. Never in my life paid to import anything. Not once. 

 

After 4+ years we had enough & moved home to US

 

Gotta say since being home & ordering a lot of stuff I am always smiling

when the free delivery UPS truck pulls into the driveway

 

Being a hobby guy living in Thailand was rough

What I paid in taxes & duties for motorcycle performance parts imported & Helmet etc

was obscene

 

Now once again as you said......Free!!!

Edited December 20, 2016 by mania

[Suradit69]

18 hours ago, ezzra said:

I think those custom guys are waiting all year for the holiday seasons to be

upon us so they can stick their fangs into the pockets of people who get

family packages from home

 

I've found from past experience that they tend to be more easy-going on packages sent during the holiday season. I would say in general, regardless of the season, I only am charged duty on about 10 to 20% of things I receive.

 

I guess, as with all things, some farang like to see sinister conspiracies at work emanating largely from their over-active imaginations. Some people become curmudgeonly during the Christmas season while others carry on year 'round.  

[kwak250]

13 minutes ago, mania said:

 

After 4+ years we had enough & moved home to US

 

Gotta say since being home & ordering a lot of stuff I am always smiling

when the free delivery UPS truck pulls into the driveway

 

Being a hobby guy living in Thailand was rough

What I paid in taxes & duties for motorcycle performance parts imported & Helmet etc

was obscene

 

Now once again as you said......Free!!!

The same can be said for every county if you live there.

The only difference is you have to put up with living in America.

[mania]

2 minutes ago, kwak250 said:

The same can be said for every county if you live there.

The only difference is you have to put up with living in America.

 

You mean every country can say they do not pay VAT nor Import Duty?

Odd thing to say if you live in Thailand...

 

I think if you knew where I lived you would be all smiles

Edited December 20, 2016 by mania

[kwak250]

Calling it a Christmas care package deserves to be taxed.

[malt25]

15 hours ago, Johnniey said:

My mother has been sending packages here for over 30 years and I've never once had to pay customs anything.

 

She used to send all my kids comics and presents at least every month. Also, birthdays and Xmas. 

 

But, this year she has said it is too expensive to send stuff and is going to stop in the future.

Would you be good enough to explain what your dear ol mum's expense of sending your kids gifts has to do with  the OP ?  Just wondering.

[DLang]

Was addressed to a Thai.

 

Items were listed as 'chocolates and clothes.'

 

The stamp was 52 euros.  :D

 

 

[DLang]

1 hour ago, AlQaholic said:

What's the deal sending packages from abroad for Christmas?? Surely nowadays you can find anything here in Thailand that you can find at home?

 

Yeah, it's the 70 year old mother. She likes to send a few selection boxes and a Christmas stocking with little gifts in it for her grand daughter. 

 

Mother's eh. :D

 

 

[mcfish]

I just bought a new phone as a Xmas present to myself and delivered via DHL from Hong Kong. I had my wallet open and ready but there were no fees.
And after busting open the sealed pack there was an invoice for 50 dollars, a fraction of the cost so if anyone needs a new mobile go with gear best who don't mind bending the rules if customs bust the package

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[DLang]

I had a motorbike exhaust delivered from the UK via Kerry Logistics and it was only 700 baht or something. Many get done for a few thousand on them. Was happy with that.

[DrDave]

1 hour ago, Strange said:

 

Not in my country. Never in my life paid to import anything. Not once. 

Each country has a different schedule of tariffs, which determines if, and how much duty is payable. You might find that some of the items you imported actually are subject to duty, but it just wasn't collected.

 

In the US, I imported a lot of furniture via ocean freight, as well as some smaller items via post. While the furniture carried no duty (due to the wood species), the other items were subject to duty, which was never collected. With the volume of merchandise entering the country every day, I would guess that the Customs inspectors only tag those items that they suspect will generate significant duty revenue, otherwise they're wasting their time.  

 

From my experience in both the US and Thailand, Customs doesn't bother with trying to collect duty on items which they believe are of low value. As an example, here in Thailand I recently imported quite a few different  items from China that were shipped in 9 different packages via the post. According to the tariff schedule, all were subject to duty and VAT. Of the 9 packages, 8 were fairly small and I didn't have to pay any duty. The 9th package was rather large and it was obvious what it was. The vendor had under-declared the value, but Thai Customs was able to determine the actual value and I was charged the appropriate duty plus VAT.

[nahkit]

My sister has been sending Christmas presents over for the last few years and this year was the first time I've had to pay duty.

 

The amount due was less than 500 baht so not exactly high value items but what surprised me was the amount due was split into two parts - the customs duty and VAT.

 

Given that the customs duty is a form of tax it seemed strange to be charged tax on tax (if you know what I mean).

 

 

[anon4637435435]

Just imported 3 packages of medicine from India to basicslly save my life. After being screwed by doctors here i decided to take matters in to my own hands. Out of 3packages only one had my name and it got stuck in customs. Sadly the drugs arent allowed in the country but i told the customs officer they were supplements to help with my medical condition. She clearly didnt buy it and said they are medicines which was obvious in there temp protection packaging and prescription only labelling but to my shock and amazment she looked at me, felt sorry and let me go with the package and no tax. Best customs experience ever!

If this medicine saves my life. Someone will be getting a thankyou gift.

On another note. It appears clear farang names do alert customs. There is always at least 2-3farang in the clearance room at the thai post all the time and mostly you can hear them complaining about its just a couple hundred baht gift or something. Does seem strange. I have been seeing this everytime its time to clear things. Nothing new. Seen it for decades.

[chicowoodduck]

I do all my shopping and shipping about June or July just to miss the rush...?

 

Anything sent here is marked as a gift, used clothes, and under the $50 bucks.....lol

[Gary A]

While I was still working here, one of my expat friends had a ratty old briefcase. His wife sent him a new one for Christmas. Customs wanted to charge him more that the new briefcase cost. He told them to keep it. He told his wife about it and told her to NEVER send him anything again.

[stevenl]

My sister has been sending Christmas presents over for the last few years and this year was the first time I've had to pay duty.
 
The amount due was less than 500 baht so not exactly high value items but what surprised me was the amount due was split into two parts - the customs duty and VAT.
 
Given that the customs duty is a form of tax it seemed strange to be charged tax on tax (if you know what I mean).
 
 

Everything imported is taxed that way. Import duties first, after that VAT.

Sent from my ROBBY using Thaivisa Connect mobile app