New Phone Jomrok / Customs duty in Lebanon

I paid the custom duties on my S10e today since the 90-day time limit does not reset with the calendar year. This was confirmed by the Liban Post employees. When I went to Liban Post to pay, I was asked about the memory size of the phone and I mistakenly replied with 64GB. Therefore, I was charged 140,000 LBP instead of 167,000 LBP for the 128GB model which I actually have. WIN!

Are Xiaomi phones like OP? I mean they forgot about them as they don't have a wakil?
If this is the case I will get one from aliexpress

Nope, they are not. I paid customs fees on my wife's redmi note 4x like 18 months ago from aliexpress.
That's why I stopped buying them. They were my favorite and up till that point I have had ordered like more than 20 xiaomi phones already. Too bad I had to miss on the amazing K20 Pro 256/8 for that reason.

infiniteloop wroteAre Xiaomi phones like OP? I mean they forgot about them as they don't have a wakil?
If this is the case I will get one from aliexpress

I have the Xiaomi Mi 9T, even though I got the message, the 90 days have passed and the phone has not been locked. (The countdown got stuck at 31 days).

Hi everyone. This is my first post in this forum, but I've been following the discussions since the beginning, especially that my wife and daughter's phones are getting blocked. These are Samsung phones, purchased in Dubai (online).
Try this if your phone has 2 sim slots, and it got blocked using SIM1... Try shifting your sim card to SIM2. this way the network will think that this is a new phone (since each slot has its own IMEI), and you could be given a new 90 day period to use free of charge.
Who knows, maybe during this time, our new minister will cancel the customs law altogether...

mohammadk97 wrote

infiniteloop wroteAre Xiaomi phones like OP? I mean they forgot about them as they don't have a wakil?
If this is the case I will get one from aliexpress

I have the Xiaomi Mi 9T, even though I got the message, the 90 days have passed and the phone has not been locked. (The countdown got stuck at 31 days).

Good to know, I am waiting for the Mi 10 Pro specs (K30 pro) to see if it will replace my s10+
Did you buy it from aliexpress?

Anyone paying their customs or is it still hung?

ivy wroteAnyone paying their customs or is it still hung?

Oh is the customs system not working any more?

Another qn, if I buy a phone abroad and use it in Lebanon and the customs counter starts. Then I travel abroad again and use the phone abroad and come again to Lebanon. Will the counter reset when I come back or will it continue from where it left off?

This customs thing is the dumbest thing this country has ever done. Did nothing beside boosting the prices even more of smarthphones.

Kareem wroteNote 10+ here working since 4 months. No jomrok whatsoever...

I'm considering an 11 Pro Max from the US, do you think in the case a 16% tarrif is imposed, it'll be on the actual price of the phone ($1099) or not?

Did you purchase yours from the states?

ivy wrote

Kareem wroteNote 10+ here working since 4 months. No jomrok whatsoever...

I'm considering an 11 Pro Max from the US, do you think in the case a 16% tarrif is imposed, it'll be on the actual price of the phone ($1099) or not?

Did you purchase yours from the states?

As I understand the 'law' is currently on hold. you'll get the message but the counter 'stops' at 30 days. No one knows what will happen in the future and yes, its 16% of the price in Lebanon, not in the US!

The law never was put on hold it's just that recent phones customs rates were not set yet at the treasury. My iphone 11 pro max i bought from France 31 days starting couting down 1 week ago because apparently the ministry have set a price for the duties.

bobo619 wroteThe law never was put on hold it's just that recent phones customs rates were not set yet at the treasury. My iphone 11 pro max i bought from France 31 days starting couting down 1 week ago because apparently the ministry have set a price for the duties.

How much is it gonna cost you?

A friend of mine bought an iPhone 11 from Dubai a month ago and had to pay 500k at LibanPost. But going by this thread, it seems like the holds aren't consistently applied. I'd advise anyone facing these issues to first let the grace period run out. Assuming it's not a hassle to reactivate your line, why risk paying for something you aren't even sure will apply to you?

ivy wrote

bobo619 wroteThe law never was put on hold it's just that recent phones customs rates were not set yet at the treasury. My iphone 11 pro max i bought from France 31 days starting couting down 1 week ago because apparently the ministry have set a price for the duties.

How much is it gonna cost you?

I have the 512GB model and yes it can hover around 500 000L.L. Last time i paid for my XS Max 450.000L.L . This is honestly theft to charge you for customs on a phone you tend to use personally. Their main purpose of all this is to protect local shops to encourage you to buy it locally and discourage unofficial(Tohrib) phones sale. I specualte that there will be more and more desperate taxation on luxury/high tech items as our beloved country is in ruins and in dire needs of liquidity. Soon everything considered slightly luxurious will be taxed the hell out of including cars,exotic foods, electronics etc..

ivy wrote

bermudapineapple wroteA friend of mine bought an iPhone 11 from Dubai a month ago and had to pay 500k at LibanPost. But going by this thread, it seems like the holds aren't consistently applied. I'd advise anyone facing these issues to first let the grace period run out. Assuming it's not a hassle to reactivate your line, why risk paying for something you aren't even sure will apply to you?

Sho 500 ?? that's beyond unreasonable, it's not even being applied at a 16% rate

I will give you a simple example of what you expected to pay:
Conisder they set the price for an Iphone 11 Pro max 512GB at 1600$(2 424 000LL at 1515 conversion)
You have your regular 11% TVA + 5% customs(16%)
2 420 000*0.16= 387 000 LL
Then comes the clearance fees which in my experience is 5%
387 000*0.05=20 000 LL
Then you pay 11% TVA on the total amount(387 000+20 000)
407 000×1.11= 451 000LL
Hope this gives you insight on what to expect

bobo619 wrote

ivy wrote

bermudapineapple wroteA friend of mine bought an iPhone 11 from Dubai a month ago and had to pay 500k at LibanPost. But going by this thread, it seems like the holds aren't consistently applied. I'd advise anyone facing these issues to first let the grace period run out. Assuming it's not a hassle to reactivate your line, why risk paying for something you aren't even sure will apply to you?

Sho 500 ?? that's beyond unreasonable, it's not even being applied at a 16% rate

I will give you a simple example of what you expected to pay:
Conisder they set the price for an Iphone 11 Pro max 512GB at 1600$(2 424 000LL at 1515 conversion)
You have your regular 11% TVA + 5% customs(16%)
2 420 000*0.16= 387 000 LL
Then comes the clearance fees which in my experience is 5%
387 000*0.05=20 000 LL
Then you pay 11% TVA on the total amount(387 000+20 000)
407 000×1.11= 451 000LL
Hope this gives you insight on what to expect

Thanks a lot for breaking it down like that, I used to calculate it at the 16% above only. If I'm purchasing the phone myself and coming through the airport, will I also have to pay the clearance and the VAT on the total amount as well at libanpost?