TikToker faces 1,650 baht tax bill for sending 10 baht pen to Thailand (video)
A Thai man shared his shocking experience on TikTok saying he sent a pen that cost less than 10 baht from New Zealand to Thailand and was charged 1,650 baht in tax.
The man posted a video on his TikTok account, @24jetlag, on November 2 revealing his mind-boggling story with the caption: “Tax for sending a pen to Thailand is 1,650 baht!”
The man explained in the video that he needed to deliver the power of attorney from New Zealand, where he lives, to his father in Thailand.
According to the Thai man, the lawyer stressed that both the signature and all written content in the document must be in the same ink colour and type. To ensure the legal process went smoothly, the man decided to dispatch the pen he had used in the document along with the six pages of the document.
Upon shipping, the courier inquired about the declared value of the package, which the man indicated as US$360. This amount encompassed the lawyer’s fee of US$350, the document’s value at US$5, and the pen at US$5.
After the document arrived in Thailand, his father immediately contacted him to inform him that he would have to pay the 1,650 baht tax to receive the document. The man said he was shocked at the price and reached out to the delivery company to seek an explanation.
Lesson learned
Officials explained that the paperwork did not require a tax but the pen did. He declared the value of the package to be US$360, so the tax was calculated on that basis.
The man said that he still felt that the price was not fair to him. By declaring it at this higher value, he ensured that he would receive suitable compensation in case the company lost his parcel. If not, he would have risked being unable to recover the full value of the document and have to bear the expense of reissuing it.
The man decided to seek help from the delivery company, urging them to declare his document to Customs. However, the authorities refused to recalculate the tax and asked him to take it as a lesson for the future.
Many Thai TikTokers agreed with him that the tax was too high, and another man recounted his experience of paying 3,000 baht tax for a pair of shoes worth just 2,000 baht.
Others disagreed and said the man had overstated the value of the package. The netizens explained that he had misunderstood the compensation process. He should buy the delivery insurance instead of overstating the value, because without the insurance he would only get US$40 in compensation, no matter how much his parcel cost.
@24jetlag ภาษี ปากกา ส่งกลับไทย 1,650 บาท #ภาษีส่งออก #เด็กไทยในต่างแดน #นิวซีแลนด์ #ส่งของไปต่างประเทศ
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