Customs Duty Pers. Household - Pandora Box = Car

MartinK-HN wrote:

Hi,

I am actually surfing around to get a clear picture what could all happen customs duty wise if I ship a container with my personal belongings to Hanoi.

Container content would be:
Books, books, books - the inherited library from my dad
Wood furniture, more than 30 years old
Old Dolby Surround amplifier
Clothes
And (an actual idea only) - my 2004 built Porsche Cayenne S with 450.000 km mileage

On movers.com I did read 2 stunning things:

a) The "customs duty treatment" seems to depend from being sent by a company for work reasons. This is not my case since I have my business outside VN and have no plans to shift that to Hanoi, beginning with tax reasons but also due to other aspects.
So my container would be a shipment for a guy who simply moves to Hanoi to LIVE here :-)

b) MOTOR VEHICLES
All autos must be new (less than 100 km) and left-hand drive
Upppsss
Motor vehicles for diplomatic/international organizations, and under terms of certain foreign investment licenses can be imported duty free
All others are subject to 150% duty, the value as assessed by customs officials
(How do they "assess"? Based on generally available value charts? Wish thinking (after a look in the empty coffee cash box)?
Motorcycles are strictly limited to those of 125cc engine size or smaller
An Import Permit is required
Certificate of Registration
Car papers

Anyone with more detailed information on hand?

Thanks
Martin

I looked into this a bout 3 years ago, basically it wasnt worth the hassle or the tax and bribes that had to be paid. Best to sell your stuff in Dubai and start afresh here.

. . . well, might be an option for the furniture (apart from some inherited items with high emotional value) and my loved Cayenne.
But the books . . . it's the inheritance of my dad. Do you think they make a fuss about books?

How many books are you talking about.

2.500 to 3.000 approx . . .

You will be taxed, as they will look at it as a commercial quantity.

Thanks 

2.500-3000 books...? Thats a bookstore 😆

. . . or a personal library, developed in times before everything in our life became digital, over decades . . . and then inherited.

Agree with previous comments. It simply isn't worth the trouble. Import tax can be anything up to 50% of whatever value they want to put on it. Receipts etc mean nothing!!
I wouldn't bring books even if I knew I could bring them in without any cost at all - the humidity will destroy them as soon as you hit the first March here. Likewise any wooden furniture.
The Cayenne - you've seen how they drive here haven't you? They don't even usually have garages to park them in overnight, let alone trustworthy mechanics.