Iang has asked if it is possible to export her UK car to LOS. I said it is not, or at least that the costs and tax would be too high to make it worthwhile. Was I right?

Ian

Hi Ian

It depends. If the car is in her name and she has had it for 3 years then it isnt expensive. Otherwise it is 100% cost of the value of the car less depreciation

James

quote:

If the car is in her name and she has had it for 3 years then it isnt expensive.

The car must have been registered in her name for a minimum of 18 months and she must have held a UK driving license for a minimum of 18 months also.

See A PERMANENT IMPORT OF PERSONAL VEHICLES for more details.

EDIT: As with most Thai documentation, the guide is very ambiguous. I can't think of any reason to mention the above requirements unless they were qualifiers for some form of concession or duty exempt import, but no mention of any such exemption is made.

Goodness, I was wrong, then. Must go and sit down. How would one go about shipping it across then? I'd imagine that would be cheap given the vast numbers of empty containers heading east?

Ian

The requirement for a UK license is a little misleading. It is included as a way of preventing kids, gran, etc all importing. A full Thai license is all that is required.

Cost for 20' container to LC port from UK is 820 + Thai port costs.
Part cost container, as little as 430 + Thai port costs.
Ian1208

Paul,

Re your comments on some sort of concession. I had exactly the same thoughts as there is also nothing preventing anyone else importing a car into Thailand.

I'm pretty sure that the essence is that having owned a car abroad for 18 months, a Thai national can take that car into Thailand free of import duty or at least at a reduced rate. However, as you say, there is nothing written down about this.

I took this up with a customs official a couple of years ago and was told that there was no such concession. I asked him what the point of the, lets call it a statement, was then? He could not answer.

TIT

quote:

I took this up with a customs official a couple of years ago and was told that there was no such concession.

Me being involved in cars, and at one time thinking of importing cars to Thailand,I can definately agree with Flip.
I also asked some serious questions regarding Mot owning a UK car and bringing it to LOS.
The answer I came acroos was that whoever you are, you will not afford to import a car, especially anything worthwhile importing.
Importing a car forget it!

So my first reaction was correct. Anyway, panic over as ex Mrs. has had her car sold in the UK by a mate.

Ian

I think the point is that as with many countries, you are allowed to bring personal possesions in duty free, providing you have owned them for a set amount of time abroad. In reality, I think its the same in Thailand - its just that somebody went on their lunch break whist writing the rules.

My conversation with the Thai customs official went something like this:

"Can my wife bring the car she owns in the UK to Thailand free of import duities?"

"No sir, there is a scale of charges according to our vaulation of the car and how old it is"

"Yes I can see that but why does it state here that a returning resident can bring a car in proving they gave owned it for 18 months?"

"What do you mean sir?"

"Ok, can my brother in law import a car from Europe, he hasn't ever lived abroad?"

"Yes sir but he will have to pay import duities"

"Ah, so they are more than my wife would pay if she brought a car in that she had owned for more than 18 months abroad?"

"No sir, as I said, there is a scale of charges that depend on the age of the car and our valuation"

"So what's the point of this paragraph that states a returning resident can bring a car in as long as they have owned it abroad for 18 months, where is the advantage?"

Blank look

"Don't you think that maybe there's a paragraph or two missing from these tax rules, otherwise there would appear to be no point in putting that statement in - everybody can import as long as they pay the duty?"

Even more blank look.

As I say - TIT

I looked into importing an old Jag XJS into Thailand and someone we know who works at Laem Chabang looked into it for us. He came back quoting about £20,000 in import duty.

quote:

£20,000 in import duty.

Never mind the cost of any parts you may need import if something goes wrong with it
colin 244

I know someone who tried it a few years ago, he thought he would make a lot of money but never checked with customs first ,he ended up losing the car.

I know how important looking good can be to some Hi-So's over there but given the rate of import duty, I suspect that a lot of 'brown envelopes' change hands 'somewhere' in the import process.

Before the import duties were amended - as in Paul's link above, total import duty was around 200% on a new car with a downward scale according to the vehicle's age.

I find it difficult to believe that even Hi-So Thai's would pay 3 times the amount for a car than they would over here for example. Have you ever noticed the amount of high-end Merc's and BMW's driving around Bangkok? Is it likely that the owner paid £150,000+ for a car that would cost £50,000 in most other countries?

Quite a substantial discount can be had if the car is imported completely knocked down (CKD)and then re-built afterwards. Believe me (ex motor trade) - just try dismantling and rebuilding a 7 series BMW for example. Even with the discount, the import duty is massive.

I very much doubt that any of the high-end imported cars seen around Bangkok have ever been CKD or that anyone paid 200% import duty.

I notice in the list accessed through Paul's link above that the highest level of duty (for vehicles over 3000cc or producing more than 220bhp) is now a staggering 328%!