SHIPPING A CONTAINER

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Old55
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This is the first clearly detailed account of how to go about shipping a container to Philippines. 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. Well done!

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Jake
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Hey Danny,

I tried doing some research about shipping a motorcycle in one of those 20 footers.  I have a feeling it may be restricted or you must pay heavy custom duties.  Can one partially disassembled one and ship it in parts to get around a loophole, if there is one?  

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JJReyes
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30 minutes ago, Jake said:

Hey Danny,

I tried doing some research about shipping a motorcycle in one of those 20 footers.  I have a feeling it may be restricted or you must pay heavy custom duties.  Can one partially disassembled one and ship it in parts to get around a loophole, if there is one?  

Hi Jake,

As a returning Pilipino (i.e., born in the Philippines), there are privileges including shipping a used car or motorcycle from the USA. Your motorcycle could enter the country on a duty free basis. You need to check since I am not up-to-date on the law.

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jpbago
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1 hour ago, Jake said:

Can one partially disassembled one and ship it in parts to get around a loophole, if there is one?

Yes, I know of one done this way from USA duty free.

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mogo51
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We are just starting the BB process here in Pattaya, had some cartons delivered last week, SO will start to fill them over this month.  

It is cheaper to ship from US than 'just over the ocean' from Thailand, go figure?

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intrepid
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4 hours ago, Jake said:

Hey Danny,

I tried doing some research about shipping a motorcycle in one of those 20 footers.  I have a feeling it may be restricted or you must pay heavy custom duties.  Can one partially disassembled one and ship it in parts to get around a loophole, if there is one?  

Jake, As I stated above I am no expert on this subject but have done a lot of reading.  Although the import laws have relaxed a bit in the Philippines in recent years, they are still subject to change at any time like many things here.  From what I read it is much easier to import a brand new vehicle than an older one.  Still requires so much paperwork and fees and of course inspections.  Most feel it is cheaper to sell what you have and purchase upon arrival.  I also have heard of some shipping parts to reassemble upon arrival.  Some have been lucky but from the rules I read this is not allowed and of course if inspected,...you loose.  Although they are now not opening every box arriving, they do random x-rays and chances are high the offenders are caught.  That's my 2peso worth.  YMMV.

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Jake
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44 minutes ago, intrepid said:

Jake, As I stated above I am no expert on this subject but have done a lot of reading.  Although the import laws have relaxed a bit in the Philippines in recent years, they are still subject to change at any time like many things here.  From what I read it is much easier to import a brand new vehicle than an older one.  Still requires so much paperwork and fees and of course inspections.  Most feel it is cheaper to sell what you have and purchase upon arrival.  I also have heard of some shipping parts to reassemble upon arrival.  Some have been lucky but from the rules I read this is not allowed and of course if inspected,...you loose.  Although they are now not opening every box arriving, they do random x-rays and chances are high the offenders are caught.  That's my 2peso worth.  YMMV.

Forgetaboutit, I just read some references of shipping either a new or used motorcycle and it's not worth it.  Too much red tape and custom duties can be up to 100 percent.  

Oh well......thanks anyway Danny!

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Gary D
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5 hours ago, Jake said:

Forgetaboutit, I just read some references of shipping either a new or used motorcycle and it's not worth it.  Too much red tape and custom duties can be up to 100 percent.  

Oh well......thanks anyway Danny!

Registering the reassembled bike in the Philippines would be near impossible and very very expensive.

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bigpearl
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Thank you Intrepid, gives us hope that we too can get through the shipping issues, I read with great interest your post from 12 odd months ago.  

For me we have to go down the SRRV path but getting straight answers from the PRA, BIR, Customs, shipping brokers left us very frustrated and despondent to say the least, in fact we looked at simply selling everything here in Oz and buying new there, we get 2 bob and a bottle of beer for all our stuff here and then spend over a million plus pesos there to replace. Many things cannot be replaced, artworks, we have some 25 indigenous paintings worth a house in the Philippines that I want to keep, tools and equipment worth nothing to sell here but a small fortune to replace there, quality furniture/quality linen are worth a fortune there, family memorabilia that no one in the family is interested to take etc.

We are allowed to bring US 7k under the SRRV, not much in the scheme of things, My question has always been who values our belongings when they land in PH? I can easily fire sale value them below the tax free import in the manifest BUT.

We also to date have not been able to find a company here in Oz that will take on the whole deal, Oz to Manila to La Union, I have spoken to brokers in Manila but can't get straight answers mainly I think because they know little about the SRRV exemptions and another issue appears to be the fact that I will purchase a seaworthy container in Oz so I can have plenty of time to load it and yes manifest etc. to be dropped at our house and left there (time to unpack and future storage for us) this is very alien to the brokers I have spoken with and they all want the container back even though I purchased it. Phone conversations seem to go nowhere but always a request to formalise my questions in an email so they can be reviewed by a supervisor or manager, never a response, follow up and still no response, this seems to be the normal practice not just with government departments but also private companies and individuals.

We are heartened to finally hear that others have succeeded with this process and appreciate the knowledge and input from forum members, Intrepid, you have sparked my fire again, thank you. We are fortunate that we still have 2 years to get all this on the go, next year prior to arriving back in Manila I will make an appointment with someone learned in the PRA and hopefully be able to get answers and work our/their time schedule as well as more info on duty/tax free imports, possibly info on how to deal with customs and BIR etc.

My ex wife and I moved from Victoria to Queensland 18 years ago, 2 shipping containers purchased, loaded over a month or so and transported some 2,000 kilometres, still have the containers, fantastic extra storage for junk (yes I'm a hoarder). I do know how much one can get into a 20ft container if planned wisely, lol, so do customs. Again great to hear a success story.

Cheers, Steve.

 

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