yes 6% GST
BUT, it will depends on how Kastam decide to calculate the shipping cost as they WILL NOT follow the shipping cost written in the shipping invoice - hence you'll be paying more than the actual 6%.

This is my recent experience - I bought a watch from eBay US and it was forwarded to me via comgateway
Since comgateway was having some promos, I only paid about 10 USD to have it shipped via DHL (but in their invoice they declared it at about 27 USD, which is pretty much standard rate).

But when the watch arrived, DHL called and told me the charges I need to pay is RM123 (RM73 GST plus RM50 DHL fees).
My watch was declared at 155 USD (which is approximately RM600+), total cost is about 180 USD which comes to around RM775.

See the picture below:
This is my official shipping invoice which declares the item price and freight cost.


So technically, the GST that I should be paying is 6% of RM775 - comes to around RM46. But why do I have to pay RM73 which is more than 6% of RM1000?

This is the kastam receipt and it tells an entirely different story.

No problem with the item price there, but look at the freight cost given by kastam - RM498.75 ?!
How did the kastam give such prices considering the fact that my shipping box only has a weight of 400g and volumetric weight of 1kg maximum.
To me, this is pure blatant rip off by our beloved kastam trying to siphon money from the regular person like you and me.
For what reason, I don't know...probably to reduce the country's debt.

So, my only solutions for this issue is, avoid DHL/FedEx at all cost as all items will have to go through full custom declaration and taxation. If it's below RM500, maybe there's still a chance of not getting taxed.

When possible and not urgent or not too valuable, I don't mind using the normal airmail/EMS handled by Pos Malaysia. Items sent via normal airmail still have a good chance of being overlooked as there are too many parcels to be handled everyday.

Also, always under declare if you don't mind - why should I declare truthfully knowing that the custom will still try to mark it up by having ridiculous freight charge estimation. If you under declare, make sure there's no invoice or price tag in your parcel in case it gets opened up for further checking. Under declare works best for used/second hand items.

Did you manage to under declare your stuff?
If not then technically we are overpaying GST

well, i guess it's a lesson learnt
(1) when using CGW or any other forwarders that doesn't allow under declaration of item value - if your seller allows it, request them to remove the sales invoice or any receipt that indicates the pricing. I knew that CGW will not under declare for me, i asked the seller to exclude any invoices and i did the declaration on CGW myself. But of course don't under-declare until it doesn't make sense haha
(2) use forwarders that allows you to change the declaration value
(3) avoid DHL/FedEx and use airmail
(4) when all else fails, be prepared to pay a premium to get your items

I think a lot of forwarders refuse to use airmail due to the high risk of stuff getting missing
At least with reputable service like FedEx/DHL, their asses are well-covered in case of any theft or lost parcel

Generally when someone ships from the US internationally via USPS, that's the normal airmail service.
For normal airmail service, all parcels will be handled by Pos Malaysia when they arrive in Malaysia. The tracking numbers can usually be tracked on Pos Malaysia usual tracking webpage - http://poslaju.com.my/track-trace-v2/

Below are my experience buying from different countries:
1. Japan (Zenmarket) - i always request for SAL shipment (aka Economy Airmail, max limit of 2kg per parcel) and they allow you to change the declaration value. Handling is the same as the normal airmail service.
2. China (Yeslogistic) - China to Malaysia by air, not sure how. You can choose either Skynet, ABX or Airpak to deliver it to your house. Shipment from China have ways of coming into Malaysia. You can import batteries, electronics, phones, liquid, powder etc without worrying about stuff getting stuck in custom if you use their "sensitive shipping option". I've always declared my items below 100 USD to avoid problems. Bulky item such as furniture, bicycles can be imported too via sea route.
3. Germany (eBay seller used "DHL") - this DHL is different from the usual DHL express. DHL is their national post agency aka Deutsche Post. Handling is the same as the normal airmail service.
4. Ukraine (eBay seller used Ukrposhta) - Handling is the same as the normal airmail service but my package was opened by kastam. It was a used vintage lens but since it was from Ukraine, they probably had to check it to make sure it's not something dangerous

This post has been edited by evilhomura89: Jul 17 2017, 07:44 PM

i think the "tax included" means the local consumption tax in Japan will be paid for
anything u buy from their local store (ie, not private seller) have to pay 8% tax to their government

SAL is cheaper than normal airmail, but is limited up to 2kg only - http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/service/d...tch/sal_en.html

You can change it when you submit your packages for forwarding to Malaysia
Not sure bout buyee, never use them before and i'm quite happy with zenmarket

To be on the safe side, always declare below 10000 yen whenever you can

Yes, zenmarket will let u decide if you want to declare it based on the price you paid or a value of your own preference
Then you might need to pay an extra 200-500 yen (depending on how much difference is your declared value vs actual value) for insurance in case of lost item claims

Usually by SAL, the chances of getting taxed is much lower than using shipping method like DHL or FedEx.
And I'll stick with declaring it as personal item since it's retro, presumably used video games.
It'll probably end up at your door step, at most with a kastam stamping on it.

In the event if you get taxed with GST, it will be calculated as per below:
(declared value + kastam defined shipping fee) * 6%

The kastam defined shipping fee is not what you paid for shipping. It will be calculated by them and the amount is gonna be ridiculous. There's no way around it other than avoid DHL or FedEx.

If you use registered small package, it should be handled by Pos Malaysia once it arrives in Malaysia. Chances of getting tahan by kastam quite low as well.
Usually when there's a kastam stamping, it means they have checked your parcel, either by opening it or by scanning it through x-ray.

If you get taxed (my only experience is with DHL), they will pay the taxes on your behalf, then they'll call you to prepare money to pay them upon delivery/self collection. The amount (assuming normal GST only) is 6% of the declared value plus custom-specified shipping fees.

This was what happened to me - https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f...post&p=85540961

Hi there, I stopped using zenmarket for quite some time already.
But yes, all airmail will still go through custom - as long as your declared value is not ridiculous (ie, small box size, low value usually no problem), it'll go through just fine. Compared to DHL/Fedex/UPS, still higher chance of passing through customs without issue.
However, if your parcel is a big box with low value declared, customs are highly likely to open up and check/verify.

I've had experience where FedEx or whoever it was at customs clearance office tried to "con" my money by using the wrong HS Code.
Bought a jacket, seller declared a ridiculously low value for the parcel - raised customs officer's suspicion. Customs officer googled the item and decided to whack a 25% tax duty (which is too high even for jacket) on the retail price they found online.

I had to pay for the duty upon receiving the parcel but then I realized something was not right so I decided to double check the HS tariff code and everything in the custom receipt. The tariff code provided by shipper is 6210.40.1500 (Garment - 0% duty). But the tariff code used in the Kastam receipt is 8481.20.200 (Copper pipe -25% duty) which is totally irrelevant. Hence I concluded that some idiots tried to make me pay extra duty by misusing the tariff code.

Made a complain to FedEx, told them that I'm not their typical stupid consumers who don't understand anything about import/export duties. Sent in all the proof and they finally refunded me the duties that I've paid.

Lesson here is, when you're being taxed, make sure you check all the documentations/receipts etc - make sure everything is valid and make sense. And to avoid any further troubles, make sure your seller/shipper declare properly in their CIF forms.

More related cases here - https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4763725/all