Greetings, Moving to Bali, Books, Books and More Books ;-)

[Globalb365]

Greetings,

I will be moving to Bali in about six months give or take and have what is probably not that unique of a situation but thought I would ask. I know Bali does not have a deep water port so containers are out of the question. I am not bringing much, just my office equipment, computers, scanners, photo equipment, usual, but I also want to bring my library, about 5,000 +- books. I know, I Know....everyone says dont bring books, too humid, blah, blah, blah....but I am a publisher and this is my personal metaphysical library I have been building for 20 years so I'm bringing it damn it ;-)

I contacted a shipper my MIL uses to ship to the Philippines all the time and is very happy with and they have an office in Bali..but of course I need a Kitas or they wont ship. Any suggestions on how to ship? and dont say leave them behind..I am already leaving my black beauty Honda Shadow behind and it's killing me...lol

Appreciate the learned input

Barry

 

[davita]

Hi Globalb365...welcome to the forum and Bali when you arrive.

There isn't any problem shipping your stuff to Indonesia/Bali but be prepared to have a plausible answer to why you are shipping all this otherwise customs will create issues...and see big bucks.
You haven't said the reason you are coming to Bali. If work related, or just a visit, either will have influence on why you need to import this amount of equipment.
Moving to a new country isn't easy and Indonesia makes it difficult .....but good luck.

 

[Mark]

Good luck with the move Barry. Do note that even with Kitas you will have to pay duty on your shipment. Without Kitas, forget about bringing anything other than what you can check on to the flight.

 

[matsaleh]

Good luck with the move Barry. Do note that even with Kitas you will have to pay duty on your shipment. Without Kitas, forget about bringing anything other than what you can check on to the flight.

Rules have changed in the last year or so. A Kitas is now not enough to bring a shipment without paying duty/tax. Customs now requires Kitas and an IMTA (work permit).

I have read that 150 kg of unaccompanied baggage can be imported via airfreight, but must arrive within 2 weeks of your arrival in Bali. Better to speak to a cargo company about the new rules.

 

[Mark]

Hi mats, I didn't suggest that a Kitas is enough to bring goods in duty free... in fact, I believe that only diplomats, returning WNI's who meet certain criteria, and employed Kitas holders with work permits are allowed to import used household goods duty free on a one off basis, (ie one land and one air shipment within 3 months of arrival). Ordinary Kitas holders (e.g., retirement) can import used household items for personal use without an import license, but must pay duties as assessed by customs. Everyone else needs an import license, and good luck with that... Of course there is another way which is called undername shipping. Basically goods are imported by a licensed import company under their name, not yours and you are charged for the privilege, plus shipping and customs fees. Sounds like it would be expensive though and potentially risky.

 

[Globalb365]

Thanks for your answers....I will be retiring in Bali, so living long term if that make a difference. Its all used stuff, books, office stuff, not importing anything to sell

 

[davita]

Thanks for your answers....I will be retiring in Bali, so living long term if that make a difference. Its all used stuff, books, office stuff, not importing anything to sell

My wife and I are both on Retirement Kitap and she wanted to import her precious dinner-service which was gifted by her work colleagues, when we were married, over 31 years ago.
Indonesian Customs still charged us import tax on a dinner service over 30 years old and used over that period of time...we now own the most expensive dinner-service money can buy.

 

[ronb]

This is just my gut reaction.

1. Don't bring office equipment - re-evaluate your current needs after you've been here for a couple of months and buy current equipment here (look at Tokopedia) which will be smaller, and not all that expensive.
2. The library of 5,000 books. I suggest you leave it in storage a year then re-evaluate. My guess is your needs will change and the books will seem unnecessary. I have a library of 16,000 ebooks and they are very easy to manage.