Importing things to Oman - Customs?

[kylemcgee]

Hello -

I am new to Oman and I am curious if it's costly to buy products from overseas and have them shipped to Oman. I can get good prices, but I'm worried the customs department might tax any item a lot.

When I lived in India, they charged %50 of the value for a MP3 player. I'd like to avoid that if possible.

Thanks!

Kyle

[doctor]

There is no Tax levied if you get stuff from USA. Just 2 Rials or so for Custom clearance on some item. (I dont know how and why, but sometime Aramex charges me). Anyways you need to take into account that Amazon/Ebay (most of the sellers) dont ship to Oman.
Use search to see posts regarding shopping online.

[Supermacs]

"I dont know how and why, but sometime Aramex charges me"

Ooops Doctor, you fell into the 'logic trap'- you assumed there was a logical reason for this charge. Its probably just at the whim of the clerk.

[kylemcgee]

Cool. Thanks for the info.

I have a good source for cheap Mac products in the US and I'd hate to lose the savings at the customs department.

Thanks!

Kyle

[shimmertje]

Doctor, that's interesting. When I order craft items online from the US, roughly 10kg's worth, it comes by Fedex and I get charged 2-3RO, even though I already paid for shipping on the US side. I always thought it was a local shipping charge but it could be a customs charge as you say.

[muscati]

Yes there is a customs duty on imported items in Oman. It's 5%. Whether you get charged on your items or not depends pretty much on the customs officer releasing your items and the company doing the clearing for you. If they're good they willgo the extra mile for you and get the items released without payment on the grounds that they are for personal use. However, this doesn't happen very often because most courier companies in Oman charge you the customs duty and then try to get it refunded by the customs department on grounds of personal use and keep the money for themselves as extra profit.

Aramex, FedEx and TNT will only charge you custom duty if its charged, but DHL and UPS will charge it regardless whether it was actually paid on the item(s) and refuse to give you proof. Additionally, UPS and DHL have a totally bogus "handling fee" which is as high as 5.8 rials. If you make a scene and refuse to pay it they usually waive it.

[doctor]

Muscati there used to be duty, But since a year and a half ( I read it here in the forum as well) it was waived for items you buy from USA. Some trade agreement?? to boost trade?? I dont know. Anyways I have not been charged any duty since that time.
They do charge 2RO for Custom Clearance, whatever that means.
And yeah you are right about the DHL. DAMN they charged me when I got a processor back from intel RMA :( Hmmm I ve sent another, I will resist to pay this time :)

[muscati]

I get stuff from the US all the time and whenever it's through DHL they charge me custom duty. I got two iPads from the US, the first came through Aramex and it was the first item I've ever received through Aramex on which import duty was charged. The second came through DHL and once again import duty plus a totally ridiculous 2 rial handling fee was charged. Prior to the iPad I had gotten 6 Nexus One phones through Aramex and not a baisa of import duty was charged on either of them. just before eid I got a couple t-shirts through Aramex and once again duty was charged.

I respect Aramex because most of my items come through without custom duty payment. But whenever I get anything through DHL, regardless whether it's an electronic item or clothing, they always claim that they had paid duty on it and pass the payment on to me without showing any proof of said payment.

[kylemcgee]

Cool.. thanks for the advice everyone.. It sounds like it shouldn't be a problem then.. Certainly cheaper than buying locally for big ticket items... :)

[Blewyn]

Who's your Mac supplier ?

[kylemcgee]

The supplier I worked with is named Howard Fischthal. He can be reached at howiefish@mac.com. We will work with Paypal if you'd like. My transaction was very risky due to time restraints, but he came through with flying colors. Great price, free software preloaded, and a 3 year apple warranty too. :)

He's a good guy. I found him on Ebay with many good reviews. Check him out.

Take care -

Kyle

p.s. Please mention that Kyle McGee sent you and I said hello!

[niceguy]

Ebay sellers usually want confirmed PayPal addresses so basically only those that ship worldwide would work. In that case you'd get your parcel through Oman Post unless they (the seller) use a select courier service. If it's Oman Post you normally show up to pick your item(s) and get asked if it's for personal use etc. etc. and then either pay customs or not.

[joesensei]

I get stuff from the US all the time and whenever it's through DHL they charge me custom duty. I got two iPads from the US, the first came through Aramex and it was the first item I've ever received through Aramex on which import duty was charged. The second came through DHL and once again import duty plus a totally ridiculous 2 rial handling fee was charged. Prior to the iPad I had gotten 6 Nexus One phones through Aramex and not a baisa of import duty was charged on either of them. just before eid I got a couple t-shirts through Aramex and once again duty was charged.

I respect Aramex because most of my items come through without custom duty payment. But whenever I get anything through DHL, regardless whether it's an electronic item or clothing, they always claim that they had paid duty on it and pass the payment on to me without showing any proof of said payment.

And I thought I was the only Nexus One owner in the whole Oman :)

There is a trade agreement between both the countries which exempts customs duty for products that are "Made in the USA" and NOT "Bought from the USA" (see..... that's a big difference). Probably that's why they charged you as everyone knows that these products are all made in China and are "Designed in California" :D

I got some materials for our office from the USA through TNT and they are asking for 5% customs duty (note that this not for personal use) now. I objected. We told them that they should give us in writing that there will be customs duty. Will have to see how things will turn up.

[hasan59]

I have imported over six laptops, IPOD, digital camera etc from USA (EBAY as well as private addresses). Never been charged except 300 Baiza for some reciept. To be 100% sure insist on USPS.

[kylemcgee]

I have imported over six laptops, IPOD, digital camera etc from USA (EBAY as well as private addresses). Never been charged except 300 Baiza for some reciept. To be 100% sure insist on USPS.

Cool.. Thanks for the info.

Kyle

[MrsK]

DHL and UPS charge me up to 6 OMR "handling charge" and ALWAYS 5% custom and NEVER show any receipts.

Once when I challenged it at DHL, the courier told me he was keeping the items and walked out of my office!!!!

I then called the office and the courier made some bogus claims that I had shouted at him (I dont shout - I cant shout - I have a lung problem!) and sworn at him (in my head yes! :D but never to someone's face). Anyway courier was Omani, I am not. I was told I had to apologise on the phone to the courier otherwise he would take me to court.

So, for the privilege of paying for my goods to be shipped by DHL from the USA, I had to pay customs duty (to someone who probably kept the money himself) and a totally bogus handling charge and apologise to an idit.

[Rosalind]

MrsK I wonder if they tried that on other people; possibly a game they play. And you were the customer!

[hasan59]

Stay away from DHL / TNT / UPS / FEDEX ETC. Omanpost Customs does not charge anything from national carriers like USPS (USA), Canada Post, Royal UK Post, Singapore Post etc. USPS provides cheap / sure / duty free delivery to post office.
I know I have used almost all of them.

[niceguy]

Err... customs is not charged to the courier. It is charged to the receiver. In the case of USPS, Royal UK post, etc. the receiver is Oman Post. So they wouldn't charge themselves customs would they?

In the case of couriers like DHL, UPS, TNT, the receiver is they themselves, so they have to on ocassion pay customs on certain items and that is then charged to the customer. Unfortunately, DHL charges their customers customs on EVERYTHING! Even freakin study textbooks!!

[obliviane]

I am thinking of ordering stuff of Amazon to Oman...but just realized that Amazon does not ship to Oman. So how do you guys get it shipped here? Any suggestions on which online retailer to purchase electronic items from? Like games, DVDs, PC/Mac accessories

Thanks in advance!

[niceguy]

DVD's and Books etc. can be sipped from Amazon internationally. most of us who buy anything and everything from online retailers use Aramex's Shop n Ship. They give you a mailbox in the US and UK and courier the shipments to your local Aramex office at a fee.

[obliviane]

DVD's and Books etc. can be sipped from Amazon internationally. most of us who buy anything and everything from online retailers use Aramex's Shop n Ship. They give you a mailbox in the US and UK and courier the shipments to your local Aramex office at a fee.

Yea I was reading about ship n shop in another thread, sounds interesting. Aramex chargers 5 rials for the first kilo, sounds reasonable since they deliver within a week.

Which Amazon store is preferred? US or UK?

What about deliveries through Oman post?

[niceguy]

Noooooo.... 5.25 OMR (new rate) for the first HALF kilo and 3.5 for ever susequent half kilo.

Still reasonable. But in my experience, do NOT ship books using Aramex. Use international shipping. Books are heavy and you end up paying 4 times the cost of the books only on shipping.

The US rate is a LOT better than the UK, so the obvious choice is US store unless you can't find something you desperately need. Another good example is Blu-Rays. If yours is a local Blu-Ray/DVD player, you want to order from UK to match region and sometimes they're cheaper in the UK. Also games. But you gotta check both places.

Through Oman post, do NOT get smaller "interesting" items. I ordered headphones through Zagg and they were stolen by the Oman Post folks. They sent one more pair and those were stolen too. Since there is no way of tracking anything once it leaves the US/UK, Oman Post will tell you to bugger off if you complain.

I have ordered some bogger items like iPhone and iPad through Oman Post though and those came through fine. But I wouldn't use them unless it was books.

[obliviane]

Noooooo.... 5.25 OMR (new rate) for the first HALF kilo and 3.5 for ever susequent half kilo.

I have ordered some bogger items like iPhone and iPad through Oman Post though and those came through fine. But I wouldn't use them unless it was books.

Thanks, this info will come in real handy.

Damn, Aramex has increased its prices since last time I checked :(...thanks for pointing that out.

It took me a while to find an available PO box, sad to hear that they don't have any tracking facility.

I have a ps3 so it makes sense to get Blue rays from the UK store...region and all...for games...I don't think they are region coded.

[niceguy]

Games are not region coded, but you may need PAL or NTSC versions?

I use the Xbox and some games are region coded, most are common.

[cyberpunk]

actually you get both pal and ntsc ps3 games floating around in Oman. You get consoles for both pal and ntsc out here as well. For the most part, Pal but you should always check. For pal you want the UK store. Ntsc you want the US store.

[obliviane]

I thought that as long as I have a PAL and NTSC capable tv, it should not matter whether games are NTSC or PAL...


UPDATE: Just did some quick research, PS3 NTSC games can be played on a PAL system and vice versa. PS1/PS2 are region locked and can only be played on systems they are intended for, unless you have a modded "multi system". PS3 games are NOT region locked.

As long as your tv can handle NTSC and PAL...PS3 games shouldn't be an issue.

[cyberpunk]

thanx mate... just careful if you're getting an expansion pack or something... those need to be the same either NTSC or PAL. made that mistake once and had a very annoyed evening. lol

[obliviane]

Yea I know about the add on packs. Just registered for PSN, been researching quite a bit.

Wish they would get rid of all the region BS.