I am thinking of ordering a box of my favourite cigars over the net, as they aren't available here for a decent price, nearly a 200% mark up. Will there be any taxes to pay and if so what? Has anyone had any experience of importing cigars via the net?

If they get stopped at customs, the answer is a hefty YES

I believe the official rate on tobacco is 40%, however this is applied to the cost of the products AND the shipping, and from my experience, it is often miscalculated by outrageous amounts (worst case was about 80%) .

I use swedish Snus, and import 10 cans once a month, if they get stopped, the tax ends up being roughly 1500 baht (product cost 2000)

My tips are, if the vendor offers alternatives to UPS, use them:

A - UPS always seem to get stopped, wheareas using less known/untracked mailing companies often seems to bypass customs inspections.

B - UPS is much more expensive than other delivery options

Obviously not using international trackable mail is a case of trusting your postie, since I switched from using UPS to non internationally tracked delivery I saved myself $30 on postage, and nothing ever got stopped at customs - ie i got my product totally tax free. Chok Dee Krap to my postman.

If your product does get picked up, be prepared to pay up to 80% of amount you paid for the products and shipping again, also they may require you to fax passport / id to them to get customs to release the goods - if this happens do not delay, UPS charge extra for each day they hold the goods, and i think this may even be included in the final tax calculation... I'm sure you 'could' appeal the tax if it's too high, but bear in mind if you do this before accepting delivery and paying the dues, the charges from UPS for holding will increase on a daily basis - catch 22.

Good luck!!

Couriers such as UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc carry the greatest risk of import charges in my experience. Use EMS, which is trackable, less expensive, and less liable to inspection esp if the parcel is small, less so if it is large.

Recommend sending to a THai person name; that helps.

You do know that all cigar sellers the prices are somewhat negotiable right; i.e. you can negoitate the price displayed? Classic cigars are a good one used to be in Gaysorn now in CentralWorld I think.

Could everyone list their favorite tobacconist / shop around Thailand. Preferably shops with fresh goods and low prices. I too miss a decent selection of cigars.

Aloha

PS - best I've found isn't in Thailand. It's the Dunhill shop, Kuala Lumpur in the twin towers shopping mall 1st floor. AMAZING selection - be ready to drool!!! Prices are the complete range from daily smokes to once in a lifetime.

I bring a box of Cuban Cigars with me every time I come back into Thailand - Bahrain seems to be the cheapest place and (this is important) also has a very high turnover of stock.

I don't smoke cigars myself, but I bring them in for a friend he tells me the prices I get Cigars at are 1/3rd of the price in Thailand, seems a huge mark up for a product that in Thailand may not be so fresh.

My advice to the OP would be ask any friends you have who are traveling into Thailand to pick them up for you.

Near the food court at the Emporium (BKK) there's a good selection. The Dunhill joint in Petronis KL certainly had a good selection, but considering their likely overheads, it's no wonder their stock was over-priced.

I go to Abu Dhabi a lot so I get them there tax free I have been stopped once but they seemed to take no notice of the couple of boxes of cohibas in my suitcase So I really doubt you are going to get taxed for just one box in the post and you would have ot be very unlucky for the package to get stopped. As someone said before just send it to a Thai name.

This post has been edited by bravingbangkok: 2008-09-28 21:18:53