Thai travellers returning home from overseas travel now have double the allowance for bringing personal goods back home.
The Thailand import tax threshold has been raised from 10,000 baht per person to 20,000, the new limit loosely equal to US$590 per person.
The Customs Department says the new threshold, already implemented, applies to souvenirs, gifts or brand-name goods bought overseas.
Director-general Somchai Sujjapongse said the change reflected the declining value of the baht and the increasing numbers of Thais travelling overseas who discovered their shopping exceeded the old duty-free limits.
Oddly, the 20,000 baht limit was previously applied to purchases at airport duty free stores in airport arrivals halls, but not on goods purchased overseas. The limits are now aligned.
Travellers who do not declare goods exceeding the new limit will have their purchases seized and face fines of up to four times the value of the undeclared items and the duty.
The limits on alcohol and tobacco remain the same – up to one litre of alcohol and 200 cigarettes (or a combined total of 250g of cigarettes, tobacco and/or cigars).
