Hi Guys,

I was thinking of buying 1 or 2 units of unlocked 8gb iphones from the US and get it shipped to KL but I'm curious about whether our "beloved" customs would impose any tax on them? Can anyone tell me if there'll be any tax? IF so, how much? Would choosing a premium courrier service helps in bypassing custom tax?

IMHO, you are better off buying from here. at least you get to inspect the goods before buying and they will usually unlock and jailbreak for you at a nominal fee

Not really as I'm getting them both for less than MYR3.8K + Free Shipping. That's way cheaper than what most people are selling over here, unlocked.

here the price from the forumers is already around 1900 a piece plus u can see it first and further inspect it before making a purchase. plus no need to deal with custom tax duty or any issues that will arise from the purchase.

mmm...btw if u got someone from US (a friend or anyone) that can get u the iPhone straight from the Apple Store and courier it to u, the total cost u'll bear as u receive it on your hand can easily reach 1.7k. plus the risk it got damaged before or upon shipment.

This post has been edited by LaskarCinta: Feb 20 2008, 06:18 PM

yea still wouldn't be much of a different in price. + my friend already tested it in US. I just need to know if there's any tax imposed by custom if i want it shipped here. else I'd just wait till my friend come back but that'll be another 6 months liaw

if u can check it first through your friend then it's good. Only got the risk on the delivery. Dunno the exact cost of the tax, but it will be rather high. Just standby the approximate of 1.7k (includes the phone price itself). Plus if u don't declare first the tax before shipment, u need to go to KLIA to proceed for the tax. Yup one thing to remember, the tax is quite high. U can read such encounter with taxing around trade zone resource forum.

trust me as i dealt a lot with fedex and dhl. if you check the online tracking really closely, the mails usually arrive sepang at about 5-7am and it takes like 6hours for the malaysian custom to clear it. i mean they really check and in many cases scan them. you can see the stamps of approval by various departments on the item's packaging.


as a general thumbrule (from my own observation), the bigger the box, the more stamps i reckon.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Feb 20 2008, 07:03 PM

yeah I noticed that. and I also noticed it's really up to the custom officials currently on duty at that time of the day because I used to bring in razor mice by boxes and out of 10 box, only one box kena tax one. zzz :|

The tax usualy RM 60 + sirim 250. Tax depends on how much u declare I think..

o.O custom tax is quite low but SIRIM is quite high :shrugs:

That what I have been told by one of my friends who ask me to unlock for him. But I dunno how much he put for declare value. But most important, do not declare as cellphone. For sure will be held by customs.

Ooo in that case gotta ask my friend to declare it as promotional items then

Thanks for the heads up aneip

Oh btw, the SIRIM AP, is it valid per phone or per import ?

This post has been edited by aphesz: Feb 20 2008, 11:50 PM

per phone

when u declare it as ipod you will be like inviting them to open up your package
ipods AV stuffs...30% tax..and when they find out about your iphones...it will be changed to the shit sirim thing

AP per phone? ah Ok.. So will it be a good thing to do if I'd just go SIRIM now and apply for AP or should I just wait and try my luck if custom suddenly missed my package and let it slide

hahaha..i bring in 2 iphones from US and the airport custom detected it. ask me to go into the room. wanted to charge me RM200 per iphone saying "wah ini barang xboleh bawa masok lo" then after nego RM100 per iphone. When i was about to go off.. he pass me his name card and ask me "encik, next time balik malaysia tolong bawa 1x for me. Ini card i." hahahaa

i bought USD399 + 7%Gov tax + RM100 = RM1486

hahaha funny man
maybe u can bring along one for me too
anyway my friend currently studying in states
i asked him to help me buying me the iphone and he said no problem
but only that the shipping to msia might cost a bomb
is it true?
coz maybe he won't come back to msia for summer

My friend would be coming back from the States too mid March so i'm asking him to get one for me. Would he be taxed for a single phone? If he is, i may ask him to just open up the box and 'use' it like a personal item. I believe with that he could avoid getting taxed?

@Soundstream:

Is 7% govt tax the same across the States?

This post has been edited by zc_squash: Feb 21 2008, 05:55 PM

There will be SIRIM issue if the items were found. They will then hold the item then force you to apply for license (Almost impossible to get one) in order to retrieve the items.

Tax rates are different in different states in the U.S.

California impose 8.25% while smaller states can go for much lower rate.

This post has been edited by ken_wickedboy: Feb 21 2008, 06:03 PM

Wah.. you're lucky he didn't ask you to go SIRIM and pay for phone APs


Friends applied for AP from SIRIM with ez dude. And Im sure most of the sellers in LYN forum also would say the same. It just costs alot for each AP

I guess i'd need to advise my friend to just open the box up then.

Would probably be the best choice I guess

Hey i brought an ihone from ebay.

I get a letter, asking me get permit from SIRIM.

I'm now very confused with the all the process
I pay RM350 for SIRIM today..Then SIRIM ask me go to 'pusat mel and kurier klia' to get my phone.

After i get the phone, do i need to go back to sirim to test the phone?
becuase after i get my permit number, the staff told me need to get the phone and return to SIRIM to test,,,...





P/S: actually i very regret now. it cost me too much
summore dunno how much the custom tax. i goin to klia tomolo

This post has been edited by s3ng: Feb 28 2008, 05:28 PM

Wow, hearing all these customs problems is making me very hesitant on asking my friend to post it back here. I think I'll just ask him to unbox it and take as if its his personal belonging. But I have to wait till May/June. It's the wait that's going to kill me.......

Looking at the thread title, are there other than US iPhones in Malaysian market now?

As for the Sirim mess, you need the right person to bring it in i guess.

wow.... so troublesome even to get an iPhone... it's like smuggling in the illegal stuffs :S :S
somemore malaysia's tax is damn high.... no wonder we malaysian could not enjoy most of the 'cheap' things from outside !! darn....

somemore msia government always claim no $$$$, doubt it very much now !

I'm trying to take the risk of ordering one soon, too.

Would it be possible to declare it as a gift?? Like, really wrap it in present form and with birthday card (and I MIGHT order it during my birthday lol!!)? Will they charge tax and need SIRIM to approve as well?

BTW I once declared a RM20k stuffs with just $100 insurance just to avoid tax, it arrive to my house safe and sound muahahahaha...It's not electronics, though...

This is so true I've observed the same pattern as well usually small boxes get through without problems... on the otherhand my bigger parcels tend to get stuck even the items are non-taxable and properly are declared...

They just tengok kotak only then waste your time to go all the way to LCCT there and collect

Simple way to get around paying tax or sirim.

First declare the original value of your package, if the package gets lost you'll get reimbursed for your missing phones... no risk.

Ask the shipper/friend to put the iPhone in recovery mode... and remove all the wrapping plastic before sending to Malaysia.

Then print yourself a fake eBay listing (easy to do). Put the winning bid at a very low value US50 or something believeable.

The eBay listing description describe it as customer return unit broken iPhone for parts cannot boot and cannot make calls.

Then if the phone gets stuck in customs just tell them you purchased it for parts/fixing (cuba nasib) then sirim approval is not necessary because the iPhone is broken.

Show customs the eBay listing as proof and demonstrate the iPhone really can't be used.

If customs ask why you insure so high, tell them you're smart. If the post office or courier lost the package you get reimbursed for a brand new phone.

I also always wondering such situation will work even it's real.

Say I already got iphone and taxed and blah blah, then I send back to US for warranty (let say), the if send back to me, tax again????

I think if wrappings and stuffs looks slightly used I think no big problem gua...

One word la, they're greedy...

Yes it does more than once but I wont admit to doing it (its illegal kekeke)

You can show proof of RMA you'll get away...

STEP OF GETTING IPHONE (if you buy online)


U receive two letter.
1st letter - ask you go to SIRIM Shah Alam get permit
2nd letter - ask you go to Pusat Mail dan Kurrier KLIA (opposite LCCT) to take your phone.


1. Go to SIRIM Shah Alam Building 9, fill up the form and pay RM350 (fixed price). According to the staff, this is a new charges for IPhone. When u fill up the form, you need to declare the phone value in the form. If possible, 'pakat' with the seller. Declare as low as possible, because this value will sent to Custom KLIA later.
** this is my 1st time doin all this, and i did not pakat with the seller, so i just put the real amount


2.U will get a resit and SIRIM will ask u go home and wait to get the permit number. After few hour, SIRIM will call you and give you the permit number.

3.With the permit number, now u can go to KLIA to collect your phone.

4.On the counter, give them your SIRIM resit and permit number. Then need to to pay 10% tax + Rm18 for a form. (Therefore, if u declare RM 1500K in SIRIM, u need to pay RM 150 + RM 18) I think u can neg. the price at here (but i not sure). if u want to neg. the price, you need to go to the custom counter and talk with the pengawai custom (i think).

5.After u agreed to pay the tax, then go to the custom counter. They will ask you collect your box (next counter). Then open the box in front of them and show them the phone. They will inspect the phone and ask u pay the tax on different counter (no worries, all counter is very near). After pay the tax, they will stamp and sign all the document.

** so far, i did not encountered any problem with the staff in sirim and custom. they did not said this is illegal stuff or something like that.. maybe because i pay all the fees and tax accordingly.

6. After u get your phone, maybe u want to try try your phone first because you have waited so long. Then, go back to SIRIM with all the document and your Phone for them to test and lekat the "SIRIM" approve sticker. They will need 3 or 4 days to test, so u need to leave your phone there.

After that, the phone is all yours now!

** i not sure what will happen if u skipped the last step. The moment you pay the fees at SIRIM, they already open a file for u. I think if u skipped the last step, the will call u or *maybe* black-listed u or something (not sure)



** after i go home, i observe the slip in the box, The box is marked as "gift" by the sender. and with description "cell phone". If you ask the seller write other description (maybe toys or ipod), i think it will more troublesome.
because when u open the box in front of custom, if they found out is a phone, they will ask u go to SIRIM shah alam to get permit 1st (which mean u need to go from KLIA to Shah Alam). but it all depend on u want to cheat or not... just my 2 cent



P/S - you need to waste a lot of times travelling 3 times to SIRIM, 1 times to KLIA and pay a LOOOOOOOOT of toll!!! + petrol + your 2 days annual leave



i hope all this information is useful for u all. When i get stuck few days ago, i couldnt get any answer from here. Summore, some1 at here told me i need to pay around Rm1700+ for the custom tax!! anyway, my phone is in sirim testing now, goin to get back my phone this coming wed... hehe




all the best!

This post has been edited by s3ng: Mar 1 2008, 05:16 PM

Just received a call from POS Malaysia 1/2 an hour ago informing me that my 16GB iPhone has arrived from US but is in Customs custody now.
Waiting for the 'official notification' from them on how to proceed.

Should've bought it here and save myself all the hassles!

Tax should be okay as I had 'pakat' with the seller to undervalue it. My greatest concern is the SIRIM cost and the unbearable wait for SIRIM's clearance.

A word of advice, if it's available here, just go for it.

lol
too trouble some la if bring in by post

lucky me i got helped by bus driver to bring in one..
hassle free.. and can by pass all tax+sirim thingy

to bus driver, u know who u are

bro just a question what courier you use?

Uhhh, yuck? Got SIRIM sticker now on iPhone? Hopefully no glue residue on your iPhone, i'd hate to get that off.

And Iori, you are most welcomed.

deanja92 - no worries, u will get you phone soon

ioriamd - agreed. i will never buy any handphone from online again. i did not know SIRIM got charge and so troublesome.

=Hanxz= - USPS (Express Mail International). hey..i wondering if i use other courier such as UPS/FEDex/DHL, will i able to skip the custom and SIRIM charges? btw, i just saw that u selling iphone, if i know that earlier, i will probably buy it from u... sigh.. coz when i bought online, if i need service,. i dunno who can help me


stringfellow - the sticker worth RM350!!! hahah ..the most expensive sticker i ever paid!

Dude sorry to hear your sirim/custom problems... sigh it can be a real biatch to go back and forth...

I've been to the customs counters before starting from 1 where you meet the pos officer and he hands you your parcel then the last counter is to pay tax

Once I was even asked to go up to the second floor to speak to some pegawai tinggi and open my PSP parcel for inspection.

Luckily every time I've been there I managed to get away from paying taxation.

Even if you correctly declare it also customs might not believe you... I purchased an external CD Writer long long time ago shipped from the US and customs tahan my package.

When I called to explain its computer peripheral and not taxable they dun believe me... POS Malaysia demanded some processing fee to act as an agent to help get my package out but I told them GTFO.

Kena drag all the way to where LCCT is now (when I was there LCCT not built yet) open the box and they still insist its a VCD player and taxable.

I had to shove the product manual in their face before he believed it was a CD-Writer... and di lepaskan kastam but wasted my time, petrol and toll for nothing.

owww...i thought that u got misunderstood the posts at the first page. it is said a maximum of RM1.7k including the phone price itself la. but it will not reach that number (myb tens of ringgits below it).

buy from Oregon this city is tax-free...

i am always buying from Oregon and get it shipped through Oregon...

I think can request the seller declare it as gift so that you can escape the tax....that's what i am doing now and it is quite effective...

Got the iPhone finally. So guys, my story goes like this....(in point form!)


1. received letter from POS Malaysia
2. went straight to SIRIM (Shah Alam). Paid RM 350. Got the permit number half an hour later and it was at 5.00pm (kudos to SIRIM staffs for the extra effort of filling up the necessary forms for me and working after office hours!). I did asked about taking the iphone back for the label but the nice lady there said and I quote "biasanya kalau 1 unit saja, customer tak datang hantar pun" so I took it that it wasn't really necessary.
3. went to Pusat Mel & Kurier near LCCT 2 days later- presented SIRIM's receipt and a 'modified' ebay invoice, paid the 10% tax which was calculated from cost price+shipping cost+fee for a mandatory form. (USD199+USD60+RM18). Again I was treated well there and that was it. The iphone was finally mine

All in all, plus toll charges and gas I spent about RM2700 (+/-).

Based on my experience, it's just soooo much better to buy it here even if it'll cost RM200-300 more than eBay cost. Saves you a world of trouble.

If you still prefer to buy direct from USA and have shipped here, remember to 'pakat' with your seller to undervalue it to as low as possible.
How you deal with the invoice, I don't need to tell you...

Then again, without 3G, I feel a bit lacking especially when my N82 can make video calls and my iPhone can't. Maybe I should have gotten myself an iPod Touch instead and stick to my 3g phone.



p/s: I did asked the seller to mark it as a gift...it was no good.

This post has been edited by deanja92: Mar 27 2008, 01:31 PM

RM2700 or RM1700??

8 gb or 16gb?

Deanja92,

Biar betul RM2.7K????
Paid RM1.8K for a 16gb purchased in LA and brought back by my nephew. If truly said you paid RM2.7K for a 8gb or even a 16gb, might as well buy from garage sale, you can get 16gb at less than 2.3k now and avoid all the hassle of SIRIM, Kastam and going to those places.

Hi Guys,

I need some advice here. I just ordered an iphone from us. It was send to Malaysia using Priority Mail International.. I am able to track the pasckage. Here is the result.

Out of Foreign Customs, April 04, 2008, 3:11 pm, MALAYSIA
Arrived Abroad, April 04, 2008, 11:41 am, MALAYSIA
International Dispatch, March 31, 2008, 2:38 pm, O'HARE APT/CHICAGO
Acceptance, March 29, 2008, 1:34 pm, JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65109

I noticed that there is missing a Into Foreign Custom...
Does the Out of Foreign custom means my item was cleared from Custom??

Please Advice..

Thanks....

But I didn't saw it's clear from Malaysia custom Maybe it haven't reach Malaysia yet.

Hi,

Thanks for replying.

Status: Out of Foreign Customs

Your item cleared customs in MALAYSIA at 3:11 PM on April 4, 2008. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later.

This is what the message i saw on the current page of the tracking.

So is it really cleared?

Thanks.

Anthony

Looks like you bypassed customs without getting slapped with taxes.. Congrats, though I better not jinx it, just keep your hopes down until the actual parcel arrives! Haha, good luck..

i wonder if this works...
Online Purchase -> Ship to Singapore -> S'pore friend -> Send back to M'sia from S'pore
Anybody knows if S'pore got taxed for electronics products purchased online from outside S'pore ?


if this way... from S'pore to Malaysia, will it be taxed too ?

Yeah, I don't see why there would be a difference. If you can get your friend from Spore to bring it back when he comes back, then you should be able to bypass customs. If you want a peace of mind, why not just get it from LYN? Using your method, delivery charges would have reduced the savings gap a lot.

And besides, you know that the phone you buy from LYN would definitely work. Touch wood la, but what if the iPhone you ordered from US has a faulty battery out of the box. It has happened before. So yeah, the decision is yours...

Well the main reason people dont wanna buy from LYN is because it's quite expensive compared to US. But if you got relatives or friends coming back from US then ask him bring one for you, that saves a lot.

to be exact
you save about 400 ringgit ..
got mine from the US ... after conversion 1450 ..
cheapest in lyn .. i think is 1850 ..

well as i calculated and gonna bring in some iphone to sell this may...
calculated, each unit i can earn max, RM400 but bare in mind, i might get airport tax(if got caught) anytime cause risking my friend to bring in 10 unit (RM16k) i need to pay him on hand first and also my friend wan RM50 for each unit (cause he help me bring in ma) and at the end, 1 unit i earn RM250~300! =_= so... save ur trouble and let us(sellers) help u to take all risk

Just to share my opinion. If you were to get from US, you might consider the refurbish unit from AT&T, one unit cost around USD250 only for 8GB. But not always available, need to keep track for it. If you can get that, then can earn. You will still get 1 year warranty from AT&T.... Just a suggestion...

If you get refurbished unit and sell it as "brand new" price then it's something that's against ethics.

the packaging for the refurbished unit is different
so no worry, u cannot sell it as a brand new set

You can check it out, there are a lot of Refurbish units managed to sell around USD450 - USD500 on ebay site... So I dun think people care whether it is a refurbish or not. Dun sell la at RM1850 for refurbish.. maybe discount RM200-300? Will incresae the profit margin. Yeah, the packing is white colour and with AT&T logo.. but the package comes with all the acc.. same with the new set.

From my personal experience... To cut a long story short... Proper procedure is as what most people would have experienced if you received a letter that your beloved iPhone "kena tahan". Sirim "kena" pay... RM18 for EDI gotta cough out as well, but tax is nil. Don't be fooled by POS Malaysia that you need to pay 10% sales tax if you declared the item as a PDA/Phone - They are not stupid anyway, they know what an iPhone is... Don't believe me... ask them to read their bible and proof to you that you need to pay what is called "Sales Tax".

The cheap and dirty way... The Kastam officer will take out his/her calculator and tell you that you need to pay 10% *ahem!* tax. Want to kowtim or not it's up to you. If dun want... refer to above.

I got a friend studying in US, i m thinking which of the following method will be more effective to avoid tax and sirim:
1.unwrap the iphone and send to me
2.declare as gift

I was in your situation once, and I just chose to wait for my friend to come back in May. But I got lucky and my friend's sis who is an air stewardess went to the US and I asked her to bring one back.

The customs scan every package and they're not stupid. They know an iPhone when they see one. It's not impossible, but you would have to be really lucky to be able to avoid tax. Haha, control the temptation and wait it out la, the potential extra RM400 and all the hassle just isn't worth it.

can nybody just purchase the iphone in US?
even tourist?

The tourist not have the tax discount?isnt it?
So if iphone bring by tourist and come back to malaysia is it can have the tax discount?
But the sirim sure cannot avoid,isnt it?that means all the ppl who bring in the iphone sure kena to pay the sirim?
The sirim damn exp...350
i am only listen from my friends,if i am wrong pls dont marah me.:)THX

Those tourist just need to go through custom.

If you pretend it's a personal belonging, then don't have to pay anything...

Bro,
how to pretend personal belonging? I have 1 iphone stuck with kastam now. They want me go to SIRIM and get the letter. So how now?
Kevin

so tourist can buy? hmmm....
actually wen bringin back just put the iphone in ur pocket lar

The problem is I prefer the iPhone to be in box cause I really enjoy the moment of unwrapping gadget box.

Last time I heard that the buyer need to provide their Social Security Number in order to be eligible to buy the iphone. Now I don't know if this is still applicable.

last time yes during the starting of the 4GB and 8GB versions
but not now as they have raised the limit of the purchases to
5 units maximum per person a day
10 units maximum lifetime

and credit card is sufficient d

This post has been edited by =Hanxz=: Apr 14 2008, 06:20 PM

10 max lifetime ?
then how come so many LYN ppl sell more than 10 units ?

Hmm....

If one credit card = 10 units.
Multiple credit cards = "your answer"

erm.. as i knoe some of you here have buy iPhone from US before. Can i know how much do u pay for the delivery services and do you escape fromt he sirim and tax thanks..

You can think of a lot of creative ideas to fool the customs (declare it as something else/unbox it and ship) but there is still a huge risk at the end of the day and as been said a lot of times, the customs are no fools. Your best bet is to ask someone to bring back for you instead of shipping it.

You can take a chance and ship it back but you would have to be really lucky. You can see from the forum threads that most people end up getting taxed etc. Of course, Malaysia being Malaysia, if you can somehow talk your way into giving the officer some incentive, then you can escape having to pay 300-400. The choice is yours...

okies so my best solution is either to buy it here or call my fren to bring it back personally. Thanks for ur sugestion.. thanks alot

This is what i done and get some info from custom.

If you willing to import IPHONE from US please buy 3 UNITS. Because 1 AP from SIRIM can allow 3 units of Iphone. AP from SIRIM i paid RM360.

Custom duty only 10% plus online transfer RM49. You can declare it lower in SIRIM so custom will not ask any amount anymore. So you just declare each only RM800 the tax will be RM80 the custom here can nego. If not mistaken the custom tax can reduce about 30% here.

I bought mine Iphone is about RM2000 complete set. I think its worth, because i had learn a lot.

anyone tried using FEDEX/DHL or any branded courier?

Seem like if i ask my friend to unwrap and bring back the phone personally then can avoid tax and customs rite?

i m also wondering is this the way of escaping from SIRIM and custom..
plan to ask my fren to get 1 for me but not sure will bring any trouble or extra charges to him...

My friend brought back mine and he didn't kena tax or custom or sirim. If u bring in the stuff in bulk ofcourse kena tax la.

I plan to get a fren to get 2 back, hopefully all goes well. Will probably have to open box and 1 person take 1 in.

can help me buy 1? serious 1

if its USD299 x 3.3 then its less than 1k. then i wan too! of course a meal at starbucks...

It's USD399 for base line model (8GB) and 3.5 in USD currency so it's around RM1.5k.

I think it's about 3.2 exchange rate now. Btw you have to take into account US government tax too. If not mistaken the 399 USD doesnt include gov tax.

I'm working with Customs Dept. Anybody who's interested to bring PDAs or other items from overseas, please contact me. I'll see how I van help you.

---

Added on May 24, 2008, 7:31 pmI'm working with Customs Dept. Anybody who's interested to bring PDAs or other items from overseas, please contact me. I'll see how I can help you.

This post has been edited by adaku81: May 24 2008, 07:31 PM

Any proof that you're working inside the Custom Dept?

I prefer to remain anonymous. I don't trust my peers either. I'll advise you accordingly when you forward your problems to me. No strings attached. If you prefer to...that's another story. I just want to help the public. Thank you.

I have get a call from DHL, after i email them about my situation:

My friend has an Iphone, and he don't want to use it anymore (well, you know hand phones in UK is so cheap and even a student can change his phone rapidly.... unlike here in Malaysia...)

So, i ask him to send it to me

The DHL lady said that, the SIRIM charge for Iphone is around RM40, tax10%, and the charges for the delivery. She also state that no extra charges will be applied, even if they need to act as an agent and pick up the package for me.

Somehow, they need me to apply the SIRIM permit myself.

Besides, the lady also said that DO NOT state as a gift, state as a personal stuff instead. Perhaps the custom people thinks that almost every "gift" is not actually a gift....(damn, mine one is really a GIFT!!!)

Good for you if you get to send it here..since malaysia got no more stock for UK and US..

everybody is waiting for sunday 3G iphone out.

The DHL lady is right. I think the RM40 is for their service charge. As for the declaration of Iphone, it is declared to Customs authorities (at the airport/post) under Customs tariff code no 8517.12 000. No import duty, only 10% sales tax imposed by Customs. Except that you must have AP permit from Telecoms/SIRIM. The RM40 is the normal charge imposed by SIRIM, I presume. You have to apply it yourself, because only you are the authorised person who would be issued the permit. They didn't accept 3rd party applications. I hope DHL didn't charge anything extra. Regarding the declaration. I agree with you, state your stand that it's really a gift from your friend, whatever the courier people said. Tell you what, next time you (or your buddy) comes across such problem, do email my personal email, adaku81@gmail.com . I'll advise you further. Serving the rakyat, I am.

Er you better check the time zone and do some calculation before making conclusions. US time is LATER than us. NOT EARLIER fyi.

like i suggested to frozzbyte before, if you wrap the iphones around dirty, used underwears. no custom officials would wanna check them.


tested this a lot of times

wah...tat's so risky...how if the item lost??
who's reponsibility??

the custom officers will only inspect your all luggage right in front you upon retrieving them from the conveyor belt.

Actually the airport custom officers seldom want to inspect you lah. As long as your face looks like normal Malaysian, not those bengish, middle east look alike face, etc, you shouldnt have problem to go through the custom. I have been travelling a lot and chance of been inspected is like 1 out of 10. Also, dont pack your stuff in very large bag or carton box. You will get check 80% of the time.

This post has been edited by tr|n|ty: Jul 19 2008, 03:32 PM

Even if you do wrap your precious in used underwears, the X-Ray machines doesn't care about its state of hygiene. Once they see it, they will ask YOU to remove your used underwears around the iPhone. Those X-Ray machines are there for a reason.

The best advice is by tr|n|ty here. Act casual, don't be nervous. Guilty people always make the first move, so maintain your cool. When I was bringing back those headphones from Osaka, I had to go through the normal lane for us staffs to go through. Bear in mind, they do not give any leeway for you even if you're staff. But I remained cool, even make small talk/chat with the officer, just like how always do when I meet them. Treat them like how yo'd do others, and they'd wave you off.

Of course, if your push trolley is so obviously bulging with stuff, and you are coming back from places where they've earmarked as being tax-prone, then all those tips I posted above means abosolutely nothing. When it comes to this, either take advantage of the rush of passanger hustling out of the baggage area, and hope the guy next to you gets selected for inspection and not you.

hmmm, from my years of travelling upon claiming the bags, the malaysian custom officers will usually give me a very broad smile, asking the very typical question, if i have bought anything abroad.

and of course i will give my very typical response as well "ada, tapi buah tangan saja"

even if they do insist on me opening my bags up, it will just be flipping the clothes here and there. maybe its just my luck but i have done my fair share of flying to be my honest.

I have not been on the domestic arrival areas, they may flag you down and do manual search only.

Things are a little bit complicated for international arrivals. Those X-Ray machines are there to do the heavy work. If you're not flagged as most likely carrying dutiable items, then they'll just wave you through.

Also, your destination you're arriving from also determined how heavy the screening would be. Flights from destination in which passangers have historically been detained and found carrying dutiable items in large numbers, are screened heavier than those say, arriving from Siem Reap or Ho Chi Minh City. After all, you can only smuggle so much from those areas.

Demeanor and how you carry yourself also important. I suppose you do carry yourself well, and with confidence, that they don't feel compelled to search you more thoroughly. These customs guys, they are trained to smell fear.

hmmm i was referring to my international flights actually. i have never been stopped before for domestic flights per se.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 19 2008, 04:52 PM