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Buying a new or used car in Thailand - What VAT is charged?


longwood50
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6 hours ago, AussieBob said:

The difference 'it can possibly make' is that if I know the facts (and the poster and anyone else reading this), then I/we can ensure I/we am not ripped off by a Thai dealer/reseller.  And of course - so that I can ensure that I am correct in the statements that I made - that is important to me. But clearly it is not to you - so I will leave you alone with my answer to the post's question:  Buying a new or used car in Thailand - What VAT is charged?

If someone makes a post and you think it is totally irrelevant and you cannot see 'why anyone's interested apart from out of academic interest', then may I suggest you refrain from entering the discussions to tell people they are wrong, if you are not interested in learning that you are wrong - unless you have some definitive proof that they are wrong.  Mate - it is all about exchanging opinions and advice, and this one is someone seeking advice so I want to make sure I am right (or wrong).

Wow - that really must have touched a nerve, "mate".

 

I never suggested anything here was "totally irrelevant", but that it was only of "academic interest" since it's never going to "ensure I/we am not ripped off by a Thai dealer/reseller".

 

If you think telling any used car salesman in Thailand or anywhere else that they're wrong so on top of whatever discount they say they've given you, you want another 7% off the price then you need to get out a little more.

 

I answered the OP's question fully, correctly, and accurately, as did others, trying to give constructive advice.

 

Your various answers, such as "they have increased the VAT on new cars" and about "'official' dealers" here vs those in the West are simply uninformed, baseless and wrong.   If you don't want to accept that without "definitive proof", then I can't be bothered to waste my time trying to prove a negative and that Russell's teapot isn't there.

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I got the response from that Thailand dealer we used last time I bought a used car in Thailand. 

"All of our cars include taxes and ownership transfer fees. VAT is payable on a car if it is a VAT registered company (which we are). Private sellers and buyers don't pay tax on the sale price of a used car. However if it's a used car and you do finance you will need to pay another 7% on top of the sale price of the car.

If the car is a 'company' car (we own it) we are paying full 7% VAT on our car and that is included in the sales price. We also have 'consignment' cars in our showroom, which when it is a cash buy there is no added VAT to the price of the car - unless finance is used to purchase the car, in which case the VAT of 7% is added."

There are many 'tent' car sellers in Thailand who usually sell 'consignment cars', and although they are looking like a dealer, many of them are not VAT registered car dealers, some are and some are not.  To avaoid having to pay VAT many dealers (real or not) sell cars on consignment (for the owner) and because they never own the car they never pay VAT. BUT (and this is the point - mate), they will often try to add the 7% VAT to the price if a naive buyer (farang or even a Thai) is not aware of the 'rules'.  Forewarned is forearmed mate.

There is no where near the same rules and laws about selling used cars in Thailand, as there are in the west.  And there is very little 'warranty' obligations on used cars, and there is no 'consumer affairs', as there is in the west. To say they are the same is totally wrong. 

I was referred by the dealer to this website for a more detailed explanation: Buying a Car in Thailand: What You Need to Know (expatden.com)

Yes I was wrong about the VAT being increased. That article I referenced from 2014 stated that they were going to increase VAT because they were not getting VAT on used car sales (because of above). But that plan of the Revenue Office to increase VAT on new cars was not approved apparently. 

 

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58 minutes ago, AussieBob said:

If the car is a 'company' car (we own it) we are paying full 7% VAT on our car and that is included in the sales price. We also have 'consignment' cars in our showroom, which when it is a cash buy there is no added VAT to the price of the car - unless finance is used to purchase the car, in which case the VAT of 7% is added."

Exactly as I was told by the MG Main dealership at the Car show in Bangkok when I bought my new vehicle, and as I also posted early on in this thread. Thanks for the confirmation.

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On 9/1/2021 at 7:34 AM, AussieBob said:

There are many 'tent' car sellers in Thailand who usually sell 'consignment cars', and although they are looking like a dealer, many of them are not VAT registered car dealers, some are and some are not.  To avaoid having to pay VAT many dealers (real or not) sell cars on consignment (for the owner) and because they never own the car they never pay VAT. BUT (and this is the point - mate), they will often try to add the 7% VAT to the price if a naive buyer (farang or even a Thai) is not aware of the 'rules'.  Forewarned is forearmed mate.

Sorry, but you're somehow missing the key difference.

It's not if a car is a "consignment" car or not, but IF THE CAR IS OWNED BY A COMPANY.

A car can still  be a "'consignment' car" if it's for sale by a dealer, selling it on commission, who hasn't put it in his company's name but it's still owned by a company so liable for VAT.

Similarly, a car may not be a "consignment' car" if the dealer's bought it but he hasn't put it in his company's name as he wants to avoid paying VAT.

Whether it's a "'consignment' car" or not doesn't make any difference!

Very few car dealers transfer the cars they sell as unless they're franchised like Toyota Sure, with a Toyota guarantee, then they would be absolutely stupid to do so just as anyone would be stupid to buy from them if it could be avoided as it automatically adds 7% VAT plus transfer charges on top of the price.

Totally unnecessary as all that's need are the proxy transfer papers, which are valid as long as the original seller's ID card or passport is valid. Why would anyone deliberately make what they're selling 7%+ more expensive when they've no need to???

On 9/1/2021 at 7:34 AM, AussieBob said:

There are many 'tent' car sellers in Thailand who usually sell 'consignment cars', and although they are looking like a dealer, many of them are not VAT registered car dealers, some are and some are not. 

Sorry, but this is simply completely wrong.  They ARE "dealers", regardless of whether you see them as "dealers" or not, or whether they're selling what you call "'consignment' cars" and after six months in business they HAVE to be registered for VAT, pay tax, etc.  It's got nothing to do with whether they "usually sell 'consignment' cars" or not.

On 9/1/2021 at 7:34 AM, AussieBob said:

BUT (and this is the point - mate), they will often try to add the 7% VAT to the price if a naive buyer (farang or even a Thai) is not aware of the 'rules'.  Forewarned is forearmed mate.

BUT, "and this is the point - mate", it doesn't make any practical difference if you're forearmed or not!

If you think a used car dealer in Thailand, Aus or anywhere else is going to knock another 7% off whatever price you've agreed just because you're "forewarned" you're living in la-la land 😂

On 9/1/2021 at 7:34 AM, AussieBob said:

There is no where near the same rules and laws about selling used cars in Thailand, as there are in the west.  And there is very little 'warranty' obligations on used cars, and there is no 'consumer affairs', as there is in the west. To say they are the same is totally wrong. 

But that doesn't stop their businesses being registered as"dealers" and their paying tax, and you paying or not paying VAT, FFS!🤣

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On 9/1/2021 at 8:34 AM, ThailandRyan said:

Exactly as I was told by the MG Main dealership at the Car show in Bangkok when I bought my new vehicle, and as I also posted early on in this thread.

The difference is that what you posted was 100% correct, while what @AB posted about where VAT's payable and what on, based on his version of who are "'official' dealers" and what are "'consignment' cars" was 100% wrong 😲

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17 hours ago, Stonker said:

Sorry, but you're somehow missing the key difference.

It's not if a car is a "consignment" car or not, but IF THE CAR IS OWNED BY A COMPANY.

A car can still  be a "'consignment' car" if it's for sale by a dealer, selling it on commission, who hasn't put it in his company's name but it's still owned by a company so liable for VAT.

Similarly, a car may not be a "consignment' car" if the dealer's bought it but he hasn't put it in his company's name as he wants to avoid paying VAT.

Whether it's a "'consignment' car" or not doesn't make any difference!

Very few car dealers transfer the cars they sell as unless they're franchised like Toyota Sure, with a Toyota guarantee, then they would be absolutely stupid to do so just as anyone would be stupid to buy from them if it could be avoided as it automatically adds 7% VAT plus transfer charges on top of the price.

Totally unnecessary as all that's need are the proxy transfer papers, which are valid as long as the original seller's ID card or passport is valid. Why would anyone deliberately make what they're selling 7%+ more expensive when they've no need to???

Sorry, but this is simply completely wrong.  They ARE "dealers", regardless of whether you see them as "dealers" or not, or whether they're selling what you call "'consignment' cars" and after six months in business they HAVE to be registered for VAT, pay tax, etc.  It's got nothing to do with whether they "usually sell 'consignment' cars" or not.

BUT, "and this is the point - mate", it doesn't make any practical difference if you're forearmed or not!

If you think a used car dealer in Thailand, Aus or anywhere else is going to knock another 7% off whatever price you've agreed just because you're "forewarned" you're living in la-la land 😂

But that doesn't stop their businesses being registered as"dealers" and their paying tax, and you paying or not paying VAT, FFS!🤣

I will say it again - calm down stonker.

The information I gave was straight from a Thailand Dealer and this website they referred me to: 

Buying a Car in Thailand: What You Need to Know (expatden.com)

We will just have to agree to disagree on the interpretation of what those sources provided. 

By the way - where in Thailand are you located - I can PM you the dealer details for your next purchase.

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9 hours ago, AussieBob said:

I will say it again - calm down stonker.

The information I gave was straight from a Thailand Dealer and this website they referred me to: 

Buying a Car in Thailand: What You Need to Know (expatden.com)

We will just have to agree to disagree on the interpretation of what those sources provided. 

By the way - where in Thailand are you located - I can PM you the dealer details for your next purchase.

The last second hand car I bought here was over seventy years old - I doubt your dealer has many I'd be interested in 😇.

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15 hours ago, Stonker said:

The last second hand car I bought here was over seventy years old - I doubt your dealer has many I'd be interested in 😇.

No they would not 😆  

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