Rumors coming true.. Ban on imports of used vehicles

LivinLOS

LivinLOS

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Mar 11, 2008
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Ban on imports of used vehicles
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet yesterday approved the Transport Ministry's proposal to ban import and registration of second-hand vehicles. Four types of vehicles are targeted by the ban: motorcycles, sedans, pick-ups and vehicles that carry more than seven passengers.

The ban also aims to prevent or minimise the smuggling of parts used to assemble vehicles that cab then be sold as new.

The initiative is viewed as being beneficial to domestic auto-makers as well as for the sake of public safety because ministry officials say many illegally assembled vehicles, especially motorcycles with large engine sizes, were being used for street racing.

-- The Nation 2012-04-18
 
LivinLOS;278464 wrote: Ban on imports of used vehicles
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet yesterday approved the Transport Ministry's proposal to ban import and registration of second-hand vehicles. Four types of vehicles are targeted by the ban: motorcycles, sedans, pick-ups and vehicles that carry more than seven passengers.

The ban also aims to prevent or minimise the smuggling of parts used to assemble vehicles that cab then be sold as new.

The initiative is viewed as being beneficial to domestic auto-makers as well as for the sake of public safety because ministry officials say many illegally assembled vehicles, especially motorcycles with large engine sizes, were being used for street racing.

-- The Nation 2012-04-18
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the last sentence i found strange "because ministry officials say many illegally assembled vehicles, especially motorcycles with large engine sizes, were being used for street racing." the only streetracers i see around here are on locally made step-throughs.
 
Just a red herring thrown in there to socially justify the process and hide that its the big bike makers paying bribes trying to keep their cartel like grip on the market.

If they actually made and sold bikes at close to global pricing then it wouldnt be so bad, but how is it Red Baron can import, pay all the taxes, and still radically undercut the main dealers ??
 
Seems to clearly say the ban of 'import and regsitration' and 'bikes as parts for registration'

Effectively there seems very little way to stop bike parts being sent in, and bikes as parts can be assembled. If its not road ridden it doesnt need the registration.

All that said, it sure doesnt look like its going to get any easier.
 
Generally, i think it is bad news...maybe good for local manufacturer , but bad for those that wish to have different Car or Bike (such as imported from Red Baron ...) . Or what if you wanna import yourself an classic Car/Motorbike? Try to find a new Classic Car :-)

Maybe there will different avenues coming available in future. Perhaps an import via some an ASEAN Country ... but we are going a bit backwards with such rules.
 
Also it will push people to bend the law in other ways.. I recently did some calcs on a bike import.. And once its all broken down, its simply soooo much cheaper to bring a bike in on temp import, and visa run it over the border every few months.. Its legal, it has a plate, its in my name, there no taxes due..

I can even get 2 stroke motorcrossers road regged from the uk.. Or KTM200 2 stroke enduros etc.. So now you have the same bike with legal plate and no worrys or hassles about being stopped, no road tax needed and the savings can pay to visa run it for a few years.

They try to close one hole, and people will go the other way and pay even less.
 
so does this also mean for all the imported bikes/cars that are around they ban the import of any spareparts for that too? We will become another Cuba then ....Thai's love their cb400 ( actually i like it too) and if they can't get spares they will improvise ....
 
The automotive used parts business is a multi-million dollar business that employs thousands in Thailand.

If they really shut it down they are going to put hundreds of SME's out of business as well as the companies that support them and do amazing damage to the economy and the ripple effect will spread far...

Cutting off their nose to spite their face. Morons!

Might bump up the value of our imported bikes though? ;)
 
And I bet you that the guys implementing this new law have strong ties (family?) with the car industry. Because lets be fair the big motorbike bizz is very small (as in sales in Thailand) but the luxury cars sales is big bizz and there are actually a lot of luxury cars going around without paying the proper tax and commission to the Thai car dealers. With a bit of grease it seems easy to import a BMW from Germany (tax-free as you get a tax-refund at export) and import it here. As long the car does not have been legalized you do not have to pay the tax, only a deposit for the tax. And well you just never legalize the car and what cop is going to stop & check and 7-serie BMW?

Chang Noi
 
its thailand so a way will be found around the problem , and spares will still get in one way or another
 
Hi Friends,

Does anyone has more information on the used vehicles import ban ? Once again, a friend of mine would like to import a bike in Thailand from Europe, I told him about the difficulties but he likes to do it.

Does someone could remind the possible procedure ?

Thanks in advance.
 
From today's Bangkok Post 28th July 2012

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/304673/luxury-cars-bikes-to-be-targeted

Luxury cars, bikes to be targeted

Published: 28/07/2012 at 02:31 AM

The Transport Ministry is calling on owners of illegal luxury motorcycles and cars to register their vehicles before a new ministerial regulation takes effect to avoid legal action.

Deputy Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan said about 10,000 "big bikes" and 2,000 luxury cars on the streets are not registered.

The new directive is set to ban registration of vehicles assembled locally from imported used body parts. Registration of big bikes and luxury cars will not be permitted under the new regulation.

He said the regulation is expected to take effect this year.

Under the registration process, besides custom tax payments, vehicle inspection and verification is required by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (Tisi).

"I'm afraid that big bikes may face problems," he said. "Tisi has limited capacity to inspect vehicles. It can do about 16 vehicles a day."

The ministry plans to hold a meeting with big bike operators to discuss the matter on Aug 1.

According to Mr Chatchart, the proposed rule imposes a fine of 2,000 baht. It applies to four types of vehicles - personal vehicles (7 passengers maximum), personal vans, pickup trucks and big bikes.

It is being drafted in line with the cabinet resolution issued last December to tackle tax evasion after it emerged consumers were switching to cars assembled from used imported parts to avoid taxes. The practice is believed to have caused up to 8-9 billion baht in damage to the state.

Meanwhile, Mr Chatchart said the ministry expects to test-run its single ticketing for mass transit systems early next year.

The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has been developing a ticketing system which will cover public buses, subway trains and expressway systems.

These three systems are under the jurisdiction of agencies attached to the Transport Ministry.

He said the system is likely to be fully operational in 2014.
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"The Transport Ministry is calling on owners of illegal luxury motorcycles and cars to register their vehicles before a new ministerial regulation takes effect to avoid legal action.
Deputy Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan said about 10,000 "big bikes" and 2,000 luxury cars on the streets are not registered.
The new directive is set to ban registration of vehicles assembled locally from imported used body parts. Registration of big bikes and luxury cars will not be permitted under the new regulation.
He said the regulation is expected to take effect this year."

This makes me think about in getting an Invoice SR500/400 and try the registration before the new law comes into effect ..........hmmmmmm, rgds, FR
 
recently a huge grey import car expo sponsored by over 400 companies was held at the convetion centre at muang thong thani , major sponsers were Bangkok bank and support from the finance and transport ministry

seems strange that they now appear to want to destroy same business????

talking to guys who are running bike and car grey importers and spares suppliers none seem worried as this is Thailand compromises and work arounds will be made and found .
 
Every day I see pics from friends on facebook that own Big Bike shops here in Thailand and every day there are new bikes being advertised, all imported as parts then assembled here. I think, as usual with Thailand, it won't be enforced like they say it will but only time will tell.
 
So now I am REALLY confused -- not hard I know. I've just had my second inspection of my imported " big bike " if you call my GB400TT a big bike. All import and excise duty paid and in order so the customs and excise boys weren't happy, they couldn't levy a fine or confiscate the bike. As I mentioned, this is their second inspection of the bike, perhaps they don't remember the first one ? To the point. They again told me it was nigh on impossible for me to personally register this bike and get a legal plate and green book. They said I'd have to go to "one of those motorcycle shops " who can arrange a book for an exorbitant fee. Has anyone actually managed to go to their local vehicle registration and taxation office with the import paperwork and actually get a legal number plate with a legal green book ? If so, please divulge your modus operandi. And, thankyou in advance too !
 
Hi Finnomick, no need to be worried that pigs will learn to fly 5555555, changed my mind back again and will stick to legal plated ones, there are a few but there still are; though most of them heavenly overpriced..............patience is the essence of all SR purchases me thinks.......cheers, Franz
 
10.000 bikes are not road legal. I guess most are big bikes and not made to adhere to 'artificial' speed limits. However many of the 'artisan' assembled and much beloved bikes I met on the road, have quite some variations with regard to safety (lights, breaks etc) - hence no chance to obtain a (lengthy) registration, thus no insurance. Understandable that the government want to do something about it.

Prohibition is easy and cheap for the administration, but it affects some SME (and electorate?). Crating additional and streamlining existing registration capacities would be an alternative demanding lots of resources. As a result the 'grey' bike ownership becomes more expensive. Ultimately it would reduce the trade and affect the SME, too.

Alternatively, boosting and protecting Thai production of new bikes creates jobs, supports development of technologies and supplies domestic market as well as export. Let's hope that the local motorcycle industry, too, develops an attractive product like the local car industry with the Fortuner.
 
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