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Customs had made its decision: destroy the entire shipment.

Aluminium was declared; stainless steel was inside. Quantities were wrong, duties were wrong, and there was glass requiring TISI certification. Four to five weeks later, the materials cleared the port.
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Case facts
Location
Pattaya
Client
Overseas building materials company (goods for its own site)
Issue
Import documents did not match the shipment; customs initially ordered the entire consignment destroyed
SiamPartner's role
Document review and correction, duty recalculation, on-site liaison with customs
The situation
The client had a construction site under way in Pattaya, with a shipment of building materials on its way from overseas, due to go straight into the build. Sailing dates and the schedule were already locked: materials arrive, work continues; they do not, and the crew waits. The paperwork was prepared and the cargo sailed. It was only on arrival, when the container was opened for inspection, that it became clear the documents and the goods described two entirely different shipments.
The problem
It was not one discrepancy but several. The declared goods were aluminium; the container held stainless steel. The quantities did not match. There were no model references to check against. The duties, calculated on all of the above, were wrong too. Worse, the container also held glass — a product that must meet TISI (Thai Industrial Standards) certification requirements. With that missing, this was no longer simply a case of "incorrect paperwork". Thai customs works on a simple principle: the goods must be what the documents say they are. When the gap is this wide, the remedy on offer is not an amended filing, and not a fine — it is an order to destroy the entire consignment. For the client, that meant the full value of a container of materials wiped out, and a site stalled indefinitely.
Import documents did not match the shipment (description, quantity, duties)
↓
The container held goods requiring TISI certification
↓
Customs ordered the entire consignment destroyed
↓
Full value of the cargo at risk; construction halted
What we did
01
REVIEW
Reconciled the import documents against the actual goods, item by item, to establish exactly where the discrepancies lay.
02
ASSESS
Identified which goods carried additional certification requirements (the glass and TISI) and mapped the viable paths to remedy.
03
COORDINATE
Worked with the client and the shipper to complete and correct the documentation, and had the duties recalculated.
04
LIAISE
Followed the matter through on the ground with customs, filing explanations and supporting documents round after round.
05
FOLLOW THROUGH
Stayed on it for roughly four to five weeks, until the goods were cleared for release.
The outcome
The full consignment eventually cleared customs and was delivered to the site, with nothing left outstanding afterwards; a penalty was payable along the way. The materials that had been ordered destroyed were retained in full.
What this case really shows

In Thailand, documents are not part of the process. They are the process.

Most people assume that a mistake on an import declaration ends with an amended filing, some back duty, perhaps a fine. But once the gap between what is declared and what is in the container passes a certain point, Thai customs has another option available: destruction. At that stage the conversation is no longer about cost — it is about whether the goods continue to exist at all.

Not knowing how to handle Thai documentation is common enough. A gap this wide is not. And getting from “destroy” back to “release” took no shortcut: every discrepancy corrected one by one, every request answered in turn, and four or five weeks of not letting go.

The real risk was never the mistake. Cross-border trade always produces mistakes. The risk is what happens next — whether there is someone on the ground who can catch it.

Case material is written to illustrate an approach; identifying details have been omitted or adjusted. We make no warranty as to its completeness or accuracy. Every situation differs in background, applicable law and timeline, and no case indicates that any other matter will follow the same course or reach the same result; nothing here is a guarantee of outcome or legal advice.Full disclaimer →
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