Importation of personal effects into Thailand

[chris_heaton 4]

I know returning Thai residents and those moving to Thailand to live can import household/personel possessions free of Tax/duty but I was under the impression that was for one shipment. The removal firm I have hired to ship one 20ft container tell me I am only allowed one pallet tax free!!

 

I am sure they are wrong. Can anyone please confirm if I or they are right.

 

Chris

[johnh101 0]

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/House...nuNme=HouseHold

 

Have a look at the rules and regs on the customs department website, having done this myself I found that the import companies seem to make up their own rules but back down when shown the truth. Also prepare to pay some "Tea Money" to get anything out of the customs warehouse.

[Eneukman 1]

I moved out here last year and arranged for a shipping agent to ship over a load of CD's, photographs, books etc. When everything was collected, the rules allowed me ONE shipment free of duty but in the intervening period the rules changed and it seems that you can now only bring in that one shipment duty free if you have a work permit.

 

The agents in Bangkok seemed to be on the ball and they suggested that I should "offer" to pay duty of 4,000 baht. This would get everything through Customs quickly without the need for any of the boxes to be opened.

 

Officially, there is no such thing as requests for "tea money". In reality? I wonder how much of the 4,000 baht I paid ended up in the government's coffers?

 

Alan

[Owen` 2]

The agents in Bangkok seemed to be on the ball and they suggested that I should "offer" to pay duty of 4,000 baht. This would get everything through Customs quickly without the need for any of the boxes to be opened.

 

English speaking?

[Eneukman 1]

English speaking?

Yes, the girl I spoke to spoke very good English. I was quite impressed with them

 

I was told that my goods would arrive Tuesday morning at 9.00 am. They were at my door at ten to nine. Back in the UK, it would have been they'll be there sometime between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm and would reluctantly amend it to between 8.00 am and noon if you were lucky!

 

Alan

[Owen` 2]

Eneukman, good data.

 

BTW my recall is you're renting a better than average condo for 20K baht/month. I've forgotten your longer term plan. Continue to rent or use that as a base of operations for investigating a condo buy?

 

How did that murder in VT sit with other occupants?

[Tel 0]

I also interested in shipping some things over. But I am not sure how much to ship. Obviously it will depend on the cost versus the value of the goods.

 

Can anyone give me an idea of the volume/weight and its cost to ship from the UK. Also any recommended shipping agents.

 

It looks like the customs cost could be difficult to predict. Particularly if I ship things like hifi and computers.

[travlling 0]

Officially, there is no such thing as requests for "tea money". In reality? I wonder how much of the 4,000 baht I paid ended up in the government's coffers?   

 

Alan

Probably somewhere in the range of 85-90% I bet

[Owen` 2]

A heads up that is a tad obvious, but can be forgotten.

 

What you don't ship has to be dealt with. I think long term storage in the US is going to run < $100/month for me, but it is region dependent. I doubt it is viable to put a lot of stuff with a relative. Think back to when someone had you store something in your garage . . . . . forever. How nice was that?

 

Anyway, ship or store. Hi Fi? Gotta be cheap ones available in Singapore of probably much better quality than what you have. Donate it and try for a tax deduction.

[Eneukman 1]

Eneukman, good data.

 

BTW my recall is you're renting a better than average condo for 20K baht/month. I've forgotten your longer term plan. Continue to rent or use that as a base of operations for investigating a condo buy?

 

How did that murder in VT sit with other occupants?

Owen,

 

My plan is to continue renting for the time being. I get the feeling that there are just too many new developments going up and that something has to give at some point. I am sceptical about the ability of the infrastructure to cope with all this new housing though hopefully I will be proved wrong here. Prices in the main area are also in the high side and whlst many people have made a lot of money (on paper at least), I would not be surprised if prices were to start going down at some point in the future.

 

I don't know yet where I'll be living on a more permanent basis. This could be anywhere from Udon Thani to Korat to Buriram etc depending on where the girl I invite to move in with me comes from. One thing for certain though, it won't be in her village.

 

As far as the murder in View Talay 2B goes, I haven't heard a thing about it here. Some residents are trying to organise a meeting of residents to discuss security etc though. I must put my name down for that. There was also a way you could get into the buildings area without going past the security guards but I see that a fence preventing that has just been put up.

 

Alan

 

Alan

[Eneukman 1]

I also interested in shipping some things over. But I am not sure how much to ship. Obviously it will depend on the cost versus the value of the goods.

 

Can anyone give me an idea of the volume/weight and its cost to ship from the UK. Also any recommended shipping agents.

 

It looks like the customs cost could be difficult to predict. Particularly if I ship things like hifi and computers.

Tel,

 

I used Britannia Shipping but I would suggest you look up shipping agents in Yellow Pages and ask two or three of them to give you a quote. I would also recommend arranging a door to door service, which will save you a lot of hassle.

 

If you're sending your effects etc by sea, the cost is based on the volume. I think if it goes by air, the cost will be based on weight. I think the duty on hi-fi equipment and your PC could be quite high. I bought a laptop a number of months before I moved out and simply brought it in with me as part of my hand luggage.

 

Alan

[redwood13 56]

A few comments:

 

Don't be surprised if some shipping agents/freight forwarders are not interested in your business. Many will not deal with "one-off" customers shipping personal effects. We're simply too much trouble in their view as we may need a lot of hand holding to get throught the process.

 

Use Laem Chabang rather than Port of Bangkok as your destination. Much closer to Pattaya and hence lower delivery charges.

 

Perhaps no need to go to Singapore for audio gear. Quite a few dealers in Bangkok, especially in the Hi-Fi Centre across from the Central World Plaza (was World Trade Center). Prices are very variable. Some about the same as UK and other items substantially higher. Latest models not always available as they tend ship the phased out stuff here.

 

-redwood

[Owen` 2]

FYI I did a search on the keyword Shipping and for posts older than 30 days. There are a few old threads about this. They look good for background information, but since the rules change reading old posts isn't enough.

 

Looks like no shortcuts. Do the research.

[chris_heaton 4]

Regarding prices, I got a quote from my shipper for door to door service from Birmingham UK to Sarapee Chaing Mai for a 20ft container. The price was £2,500

 

I hope now we are shipping to Pattaya and not Chaing Mai it will be cheaper.

 

Chris

[Shit_Happens 31]

Officially, there is no such thing as requests for "tea money". In reality? I wonder how much of the 4,000 baht I paid ended up in the government's coffers?

 

Alan

None of it.

[aqua4 2]

It makes little difference if you have a work permit. There will always be somehting that needs to be paid.

 

 

[Eneukman 1]

None of it.

And I thought I was a cynical bastard.

 

Alan