Duties and Taxes: What?

I was looking online for any info pertaining to how duties and taxes are computed in case I bring home a bulky electronic item back to PH, but my searches landed on various non-gov sites who are altruistic enough to offer, well, some handy information. Nonetheless, I still did not find what I was looking for -- even after skimming through the Bureau's website. I did found, however, an FAQs (the most informative section in their site) which somehow could still be misinterpreted by some (their staff included, hah!). Hence they have this one line disclaimer at the bottom of that FAQ section that says..

"Note: This FAQs is merely a guide and does not contain all Customs rules and regulations."


So what comprises the fees being charged to the items subject to duties and taxes? Can we at least get an idea of around how much we should be preparing once we get to customs at the airport? And where does all those fees will go, or at least what's the basis of their computation? Has anyone seen this info? Should this be made available to the general public?

At least I can be certain that "yes" is the answer to my last question =)

I came across this blog from a guy who had a terrible experience with the digital media player he purchased online in Sg. He ended up paying almost half the cost of the purchased item. Check out this page for the full story. He even published the receipts and corresponding fees charged that doesn't clearly justify fair cost. You will be surprised at the fees.

I visited Singapore Customs website to see if such info are furnished in their website (and maybe to make some sort of comparison? haha. Okay, okay, I can't compare Ph with Sg. I just hope Ph will make some improvements someday... i really hope.. really hope). Anyhow, I'm happy to see that SG have made all these transparent, even the fees were documented.

SG Customs: Info on Duties and Taxes
SG Customs: Documentation and Fees


Some useful information (I hope..)

Ph Gov Forum: Some Customs Tax Guidelines
PH Embassy in Sg: Duty and Tax Free Priveleges
PH Bureau of Customs FAQs

c",)

Life Blog: United Colors of Singapore

Yey! Tomorrow is a public HOLIDAY! Rest day! I just hope I won’t get called for work. Singapore is havin this important occasion celebrated by Muslims around the globe, called the ‘Hari Raya Puasa.’ While last Saturday was another public holiday celebrated by Hindus, called Deepavali, which is also known as the festival of lights. There are also holidays for Chinese, as well as for Christians.

In this country you will find many different races. I guess, ‘say in one shopping mall, if you gather all the people together you’ll be surprised to see sorts of people coming from dif’rent places and races. Apart from Singaporeans, you’ll find Chinese from mainland, Malays, Filipinos, Japs, Thais, Koreans, Indians, Americans, Brits, and many others. There might even be some Cro-magnons (or Encino-man, hehe).

SG is such a small country. I think this is one obvious reason why we can easily find varied nationalities in many places. One of the things I admire here is havin 'less discrimination.' I observed one time, when I was trav'lin via MRT, that most people were just minding their own business – some were half-asleep (others were snoring), some were just quietly sitting there while reading books or listening to their mp3s, others were chattin with their friends. You’ll also hear different languages from those people conversing, and probably you’ll notice different smiles, funny faces, traditional outfits or some peculiar get ups, and of course, the unusual smell. In public transportations you’ll discover that signs are printed in 4 different languages. And hearing the announcements everyday as you head to/from work will somehow lodge this into your head. It goes something like..

“Your attention please, for your own safety, please stand behind the yellow line.” (English). “That cha chi chu yi…” (this is Mandarin, sorry I forgot the rest of the phrase). “Sila ambil perhatian, demi keselematan anda…” (this is Malay, I forgot the rest also, hehe). “Al lugi lipawl blah blah blah.. (this is Tamil, I obviously couldn’t remember the entire phrase, hihi)

Another thing that I’m thankful for in this country is knowing that many people speak English! You wouldn’t get lost because there will certainly be someone who could give you directions, in which you wouldn’t find difficult to understand.

c",)

Life Blog: Wishin' for November Rain..

I was tempted to write about what happened the other night at work where I had to stay up from 1:00am 'til mid afternoon. But I realised I promised myself that i'll dismiss work from my mind as soon as I get home :)

Anyhow, last Friday when my friend and I stepped out of the office building, we were dazed to see the cloudy atmosphere. The air smelled burnt wood/trees. We guessed it's probably due to a huge fire that broke in the city (we're 30 minutes away from the city, btw). When I arrived home, I searched the net for any news about earlier fire which could've had caused the haze. The report says it was due to the rainforest fire in Indonesia, specifically within the province of Kalimantan, Borneo -- western Indonesia, but within Southern part of Asia. This indonesian province was labeled 3rd or 4th largest island in the world which is covered largely by dense of forest. The wind was blowing across Sumatra, no wonder the thick smoke reached Singapore (see encircled in below map).

I have learned to love being in Singapore because of the clean environmnt, ease of commuting, and the feeling of being safe even if you're walking down the streets late in the evening (but I think I will never get used to their food -- they're soo spicy and everythin tastes almost the same, sorry about this -- perhaps I just miss eating diff'rent varieties). This haze had turned Singapore's clean air to a gloomy atmosphere for a few days now. This is the time when people here will be praying for rains to come :)