Taxes On Importing Cultural/educational Books For Personal Use.

[Vincent]

Hi, I have just ordered, duty free, some cultural/educational books via Amazon, strictly for personal use/development. The Filipino Custom is now asking for a large fee (import duty + VAT). I suspect that this might not be correct after reading for example this article: "Taxes on books lifted". Do you have any experience with this? For the time being I have declined to pay and left the package at the post office. Thanks in advance, Vincent

[Mr Lee]

Hi, I have just ordered, duty free, some cultural/educational books via Amazon, strictly for personal use/development. The Filipino Custom is now asking for a large fee (import duty + VAT). I suspect that this might not be correct after reading for example this article: "Taxes on books lifted". Do you have any experience with this? For the time being I have declined to pay and left the package at the post office. Thanks in advance, Vincent

I do not know the law but if it was me, then I would print that news story and bring it to the post office and show it to them, maybe they would then release it with the normal p40 fee.

[Vincent]

Thanks Mr. Lee. This is what I have done. Man at the post-office did not agree to release the package but made a copy of the article and kindly offered to inquire at the Custom.

[JJReyes]

Under the GATT agreement, all books, magazines, educational materials, etc. are duty free. Unfortunately, Philippine customs agents never the read the memo, assuming they know how to read. I also got taxed and charged storage fees shipping textbooks using FedEx. It is more convenient and less aggravating to just pay. JJR

[Art2ro]

Hi, I have just ordered, duty free, some cultural/educational books via Amazon, strictly for personal use/development. The Filipino Custom is now asking for a large fee (import duty + VAT). I suspect that this might not be correct after reading for example this article: "Taxes on books lifted". Do you have any experience with this? For the time being I have declined to pay and left the package at the post office. Thanks in advance, Vincent

I do not know the law but if it was me, then I would print that news story and bring it to the post office and show it to them, maybe they would then release it with the normal p40 fee.

I have found in the past when I used DHL door to door delivery and my package is in the customs area for processing, I usually get with the DHL custom service representatives via email and send them other documents to support my shipment's invoice showing certain items that are for personal use, taxable or not. You sort of have to plea your case in order not to be levied a huge tax on everything shipped from the U.S.. Philippines Customs are so inconsistent with their computations most of the time! It's just best to attach to your invoice what ever documents that are available at the time of your shipment before it makes to the Philippines Customs processing area. I've used DHL for 3 years every 90 days and each and every shipment was the same each and every time, but Custom's tax computations was also different each and every time, but which at times they didn't even charge any taxes on my shipment at all! It seems that each and every other custom inspector have their head up their ass and don't really know how to asses the shipments they are processing, unless you send them tons of documents via your shipper to plea your case for you in order for your shipment to be released at Customs in a reasonable amount of time like 3 to 5 days the most, but without supporting documents it'll take 7 days or more depending on what was shipped!

[scott h]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but once we move there i was planning on using Amazon to ship Novels and the like that I cant get in the Philippines. Do we owe customs on these types of shipments? If so, sounds like Kindle time. thanks

[Tatoosh]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but once we move there i was planning on using Amazon to ship Novels and the like that I cant get in the Philippines. Do we owe customs on these types of shipments? If so, sounds like Kindle time.thanks

My limited experience with this is with the shipper - My-shoppingbox.com which ships small items either by sea or air. Reasonable rates after you pay a 25 dollar (US) annual membership. I have had a number of books shipped for my wife's library and my cooking hobby. Zero problem with customs so far. No customs problems at all, even for the Kindle we had shipped over. Which is now my number one choice for books since Baguio City has 3G coverage. I buy on Amazon and a few minutes later, the book is on the Kindle. Sweet!If you are planning on buying from hardbounds or paperbacks from Amazon, try the my-shoppingbox solution. Delivery is by Air21 (aka FedEx) to your door. Air freight is $5.50 a pound, though in some cases it can go to $8.50. Mine were all $5.50 per pound and you see the rate before you authorize shipment. For eBooks, Kindle is fan-<deleted expletive>-tastic! Some folks don't like them and I can understand it is matter of personal taste. They are okay to poor for PDF files depending on how the PDF is put together. The azw and mobi file formats work great and there is software to allow conversion of PDF to MOBI for free. Second choice is Manila Forwarders. They have two programs for overseas shopping and shipping. The first does not require membership payment, just info on file. Then you can buy and ship various sized stuff from the USA, including from Amazon or eBay. They have a calculator and it is size or dimension oriented though where you live in the Philippines can effect the total. I use them for items that are bulky or heavy. I am waiting for a smoker to arrive next week. Their lowest price I saw was $35 for a package, so a bit high for a single book that might cost you $5.50 to $11.00 via my-shoppingbox. Their second option requires a 10 dollar a month membership and they will compact shipments by repacking. If you order a number of small items (such as books) often, then this may be a very good option. You could order your books from various providers and get them shipped to you at one time. But it will entail an annual membership of $120 for the service. Plus the shipping cost. I opt for my-shopping.box usually for books or small items. I had some better quality thermometers shipped over via the msb option and no problem with condition or customs. Nice, very nice. They don't take lithium batteries but didn't blink at the Kindle. I did not argue. My last package via the post office came in soaked, though the 14 dollar two pound program they have is a great way to get some stuff if the shipper will use it. I get some bulks spices that way when they simply can not be found here. Takes a month to two months to arrive but as long as they are well packed in plastic, it is okay. Books maybe not so much. Tatoosh

[MikeB]

My limited experience with this is with the shipper - My-shoppingbox.com which ships small items either by sea or air.

Can you provide a url for this company, not finding it. Thx.

[Tatoosh]

My limited experience with this is with the shipper - My-shoppingbox.com which ships small items either by sea or air.

Can you provide a url for this company, not finding it. Thx.

Here is a link to them: http://www.my-shoppingbox.com/

[MikeB]

I signed up for this My-shoppingbox.com and have had 3 items forwarded from the US to the province here where I live. It seems to work fine; once you pay the annual $25 fee, the shipping charges are much less then the major carriers - $5.50 for up to one lb, but it's not solely measured in weight, they take size into account as well. I paid $5.50 each for the 2 small items and $22 for a pair of size 14 running shoes; that includes all fees including customs. All the approvals and tracking are done with their web interface, very easy. Total shipping time from vendor to forwarder to me has been about 10 working days.