How Much Duty To Send That Thing To The Philippines?

[robert k]

1 hour ago, Snowy79 said:

I'm in the process of shipping eight boxes of clothing and tools for my own use. Everything is well used and many items over 15yrs old. My boxes are currently held in Hong Kong for forward shipping but already the Philippines customs have tried to hit be with a duty charge of well over £500 sterling. They must have some special superpower to work out the duty rate as each box is just labelled tools and clothes. I've got a feeling it's going to be fun when they arrive in the Philippines.

If it's a durable tool I would get ready to pay duty on new list price. I'm bringing more tools than clothing in my luggage this next trip, just the stuff I didn't see readily available or complete socket wrench set that comes with it's own compact organizing case, set of line wrenches, regular wrenches of decent quality with their own organizer and possibly a Rigid spud wrench, just in case. Probably 12 kilos in just that. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

I just talked to a guy at breakfast who did the same.  He said he had to show up with the customs inspector in Cebu to go through everything while the inspector decided how much to charge.  It was supposed to be all free as you are allowed to bring certain household goods with you when you move here.  The fellow I talked to said it was not a big deal but he talks like many hundreds of US$ is not a big deal to him, and compared to US prices it is not.  Those of us on a tight budget may feel a little pinch.

Biggest complaint was "little man syndrome".  It seems the senior customs guy in Cebu is a short fellow and likes to lord it over big tall Americans like he is a pompous big shot.  Such is how it was explained but I am paraphrasing so it may not be that bad.

 

EDIT:  It occurs to me that it may depend how you declare it.  People who send 'gifts' by Balikbayan box seem to have less trouble than people who send their household goods under the moving allowance provision of the customs act.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Dave Hounddriver

[Gerald Glatt]

We shipped tools in BB Boxes two boxes each with about a 100 lbs plus canned goods and towels...no duty, no one even asked. 

[roddavis]

Same here. Sent 12 boxes BB status. As long as everything was listed, no additional duty or taxes. From tools to foodstuff, metal detectors and canned food. No additional costs paid.

[SNAFU]

Same here, too. We've been shipping BB with Forex for >25 years, and have never had a single problem or anything held for inspection or additional duties. We've shipped just about anything imaginable, new and used (but never expressly dangerous/prohibited) that will fit into the BB boxes they provide, and have never even had to provide a packing list to their stateside rep upon pick-up. Our rep Dave is a Fil-Am friend who has been with Forex forever, so maybe our success has something to do with how he completes any further shipping papers at their Forex intermodal hub, not sure. I'll ask him the next time we have a pick-up. YRMV

[Snowy79]

Yesterday 7 of my 8 boxes arrived. I'm looking forward to opening them as fragile written on the outside must translate to drop from a height. The delivery guy spoke pidgeon English and couldn't understand why I wanted a signed record as to what box was missing. All I could get out of him was "tomorrow, tomorrow".

So far I've not paid one peso but I wouldn't be surprised if the one box is held to ransom.

[virginprune]

I sent 3 boxes via Forex with tools and household goods etc. 1 of the 3 had been opened, nothing missing and no duty to be paid. In my suitcase I brought a brand new DJ mixing desk, at Davao customs it was picked out for explanation. After explaining it was for personal use as a hobby it was passed ok, thankfully.

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 2/28/2017 at 9:23 AM, Snowy79 said:

I'm in the process of shipping eight boxes of clothing and tools for my own use. Everything is well used and many items over 15yrs old. My boxes are currently held in Hong Kong for forward shipping but already the Philippines customs have tried to hit be with a duty charge of well over £500 sterling. They must have some special superpower to work out the duty rate as each box is just labelled tools and clothes. I've got a feeling it's going to be fun when they arrive in the Philippines.

Overview
Import duty and taxes are due when importing goods into Philippines whether by a private individual or a commercial entity.  The valuation method is CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight), which means that the import duty and taxes payable are calculated on the complete shipping value, which includes the cost of the imported goods, the cost of freight, and the cost of insurance.  In addition to duty, imports are subject to sales tax (VAT).
Duty Rates
Duty rates in Philippines vary from 0% to 65%, with an average duty rate of 10.5%.  Some products can be imported free of duty, e.g. laptops and other electronic products.
Sales Tax
Goods imported into Philippines are subject to VAT at a rate of 12% calculated over the CIF value plus any applicable duty.
Minimum thresholds
Imports with a FOB value, i.e. product value excluding shipping and insurance cost, up to PHP 10,000 are exempt from duty and VAT.
Other taxes and customs fees
A few commodities, like passenger automobiles, jewellery, alcohol, tobacco, etc. may also be subject to the payment of Ad Valorem Tax aside from the import duty and VAT. The rate of Ad Valorem Tax depends on the make-up of the commodity such as the engine displacement cost in case of automobiles, or alcohol content in case of beverages.

[i am bob]

Long time ago on this thread I said I would post the calculator...  So...

https://m.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

Finally, eh?

 

[Snowy79]

I've now received 8 out of 8 boxes. Minus some clothes but I can live without them. So far no duty to be paid. Fingers crossed there's not an email with a bill winging my way.