A Foreigner's Guide to Dealing with Korean Customs when ...

This personal customs clearance number is a 13 digit number starting with a P, that is tied to your identity and home address. AForeigner'sGuidetoDealingwithKoreanCustomswhenShipping  AllHomeKidsIdeasEventsDatingFoodieTravelHealthTravelBusinessWonderfulFoodieServicesFunforKidsDatingConcertsEventsHomeShoppingConcertDeliveryFerryLivinginKoreaPetsSearchLogin/SignupWonderfulJan7,20204minreadAForeigner'sGuidetoDealingwithKoreanCustomswhenShippingUpdated:Mar25,2021WonderfulisapersonalassistantservicehelpingforeignerslivinginandtravellingtoKorea.Foryearswehavehelpedhundredsofforeigners,bothinandoutsideofSouthKorea,shipproductsintoandoutofthecountry.Ourclientsfindusespeciallyusefulwhentroubleshootingshippingdelaysduetocustomsissues,orwhencontactingtherelevantauthoritiesforhelpwithcustomsclearance.Basedonourexperience,wehavesummarizedthemainpointseachexpatshouldknowwhenshippingto/fromabroadandwhendealingwiththeKoreancustomssystem.HowtoGetaKoreanCustomsIdNumberIfyouplanonfrequentlyshippingitemsfromabroad,oronbuyingfromforeignshoppingwebsites,youmightwanttosignupforacustomsIDnumber,tosimplifythecustomsclearanceprocess.Thispersonalcustomsclearancenumberisa13digitnumberstartingwithaP,thatistiedtoyouridentityandhomeaddress.AsaforeigneryouwouldhavetohaveanAlienRegistrationCardtobeabletomaketheapplication.Wonderfulcanhelpwiththeapplication,butifyoufeelconfidentwithnavigatingKoreanwebsites,thenyoucanfollowthislinkforthecustomsclearancenumberapplicationpage.EvenwithoutaKoreanCustomsId,youcanstillmakepurchasesanddealwithcustomsforproductsthatareshippedtoyoufromabroad.Manytimes,theshippingcompanywillsendamessagetoyou(usuallyinKorean)askingforyourPassportorARCnumber.Thismaybesufficientforcustoms.PayingCustomsTaxEvenifyouhaveaKoreancustomsclearancenumberoryouhavesubmittedtherequiredinformation,youmaystillfindyourselfinasituationwhereyouhavetopaycustomstax.Forcustomstax,thetaxauthoritywouldmostlikelycontactyoudirectlyviasmsoremail.Ifyouarelucky,thecompanyhandlingyourshipmentwouldhelpwithgettingtherequiredinformationtoclearyourtaxes,howeverinmostcasesyouareonyourown.:(ManytimesthetaxauthorityorcustomsbrokerwouldsendamessageinKorean,withnocleardescriptionofwhatstepsneedtobetaken.IfyoudonotknowKorean,youmightdismissthemessageasspam.Ifashipmentseemstobedelayed,itmightbeagoodideatocheckyourmessagesforthepastfewdays.Fromourexperience,gettingholdoftheparticulardepartmentresponsibleforyouritem,canbeabittricky.Sometimesyoucanberedirected4timesbeforeyougettothefinalcontactpoint,sothismighttakesometime.Typicallyifyougiveyourshipmenttrackingnumber,andthedestinationaddress,thenthecustomsofficialswouldbeabletohelp. Ingeneral,itemsshippedtothecountrybelowathresholdvalueof150,000KRWarefreeofcustomstax.Someitemsareexempt,andtheactualtaxratevaries,soitiseasiertocontactthecustomsauthoritytoconfirmthefinalamount.Ifyouhavetimeonyourhands,thenyoumightfollowthislink,totryandgettheexacttaxrateperitem.However,onethingyoushouldknowisthatthecustomstaxthresholdisnotcalculatedperpurchase,butonthetotalvalueofgoodsthatarriveataportwithinacertainperiod.(Dependingontheport,itcouldbeadayoracoupleofdays).Thismeansthatyoucouldbuymanysmallitemsoverafewdaysbutstillhavetopaycustomstax,forthefullamount.Youmaystillhavetopay,evenwhenyouhavealreadyreceivedsomeitems. DangersofNotPayingCustomsTax Wehavealreadymentionedthatsometimesyoumighthavealreadyreceivedyouritems,butstillberequiredtopaycustomstaxesforthemafterwards.Youshouldbeespeciallycarefulaboutthis,becauseifyoumisstopayanycustomstaxes,youmightbedeniedentryintothecountrynexttimeyouareatanairport.Worsestill,theycoulddetainyouatanyportofentryandrequireyoutomakethetaxpaymentbeforeyouareallowedintothecountry.Youreallydonotwanttobeinsuchasituation,soyoushouldalwayspayanytaxesyouowe. ChoosingyourShippingCompany Whenpurchasingyouritem,itisalwaysadvisabletofirstcheckontheservicesofferedbythecompanywithregardstoshipping.Wehavehadmanyrequestswhereclientspurchasefromawebsite,butrealizethatthecompanytheyuseddoesnothelp,norprovideinformationwithregardstocustomsprocessing.Worsestill,somecompanieswillindicateshippingfeeswhenyoumakethepayment,butitturnsoutthatyouwouldstillhavetopayextraforshippingtheitemfromthecustomsporttoyourhome.Itisalwayshelpfultosendamessageaskingwhatkindofsupportthecompanywouldoffer,oratleastreadontheirreviewstobebetterprepared.IfyouareskilledatKorean,itmightmakesensetosearchforacustomsbrokertohelpwithashipmentstuckatcustoms.Thesecompanieswouldcontactthevariousdepartmentsandgetthenecessarypaperworkrequiredtoprocessyourshipmentthroughcustoms.Theydochargeanadditionalfeefortheirservicesthough.Insummary,dealingwithKoreancustomscanbeatrickyandtimeconsumingprocess.Wonderfulhelpsreducethecomplexityandhandlesalltheissueswithregardstocheckingonthestatusofanitematcustoms,processingcustomspayments,quickshippingfromcustomsandmanyotherissuespeopleregularlyfacewithcustoms.Savetimeandhasslewhendealingwithcustoms,anduseWonderful.Regardingourpricing,wechargeforthetimetakenworkingonyourrequestat800KRW/min(Thereisa15%discountforfirsttimeusers),andyoucangetarefundontheremainingtimewithin3months.ThereareNOprocessingfeeswhenyoupayusviabankwiretransfer.(Youwillpayonlythecostoftheitem(s)).Whenwechargeyourbankcard,thereisan8.5%processingfeethatgoestothepaymentprocessorfortheirservices.WedoNOTbenefitfromthisfee.Formoreinformationregardingourpricing,pleasefollowthislink.Ifinterestedinanyoftheseconcerts,youcanreachusonFacebook,KakaoTalkorEmail.Youmightalsofindtheselinksuseful:-SimplifyOnlineShoppinginKoreawithanOnlineShoppingService.-SendCustomGiftstoKoreawithWonderful-HowtogetcourierdeliveryinKoreawithWonderful-Wonderful'sGuidetogivinggiftsinKorea0views0commentsPostnotmarkedasliked