The Customs Department has stepped in to calm public frustration and outcry over its latest notifications, including an apparent requirement for travelers to declare their personal effects before departing the country.
Deputy Director-General of the Customs Department, Chaiyuth Khankun said on Thursday that the notification at the centre of public attention, requiring travelers to declare such personal effects as watches, video cameras and computer notebooks before leaving the country, is not intended to be compulsory but has been initiated to facilitate the intentions of some travelers, who plan to take some items out of the country only to bring them back later.
According to the much-criticized notification, which has been in effect since February 26, travelers who wish to make such a declaration, can report to an on-duty customs official to have all such items recorded and use the issued copy of record to prove they are not newly-acquired items that are subject to import duties when they re-enter Thailand with the traveler.
Mr. Chaiyuth said that the declaration process will take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
Nevertheless, he conceded that this notification includes some information, which appears confusing to the public, and the Customs Department has already started working with related agencies to make adjustments to it in order to help the public gain a better understanding, tentatively within a week.
(Source:-National News Bureau of Thailand)