What It Costs to Ship From Thailand to the UAE: Duty, VAT and the Real Price
What It Costs to Ship From Thailand to the UAE: Duty, VAT and the Low-Value Exemption
A box that clears customs fine in Bangkok can still get stopped in Dubai. UAE customs duty applies above a value threshold, VAT applies on top of that in almost every case, and both are worked out before the courier releases the parcel. None of that shows up on the price quoted in Thailand. It shows up as a hold at customs or a bill the receiver has to settle before the box moves again.
Dragon Courier, a Bangkok based courier shipping from Thailand to over 200 destinations, prices the UAE lane with duty and tax already inside the fee. This is what the UAE charges on parcels arriving from outside the country, quoted as the government publishes it, and what a duty inclusive price removes for the receiver.
Customs Duty on UAE Shipments
UAE customs duty is charged at 5% of the CIF value of a shipment: the goods, the freight and the insurance added together. The UAE government's own wording:
> "The rate of customs duty is 5 per cent of the value of goods plus Cost Freight Insurance"
Source: Customs clearance, u.ae, the official UAE government platform.
The rate is not applied to the goods price alone. Shipping cost and insurance are added first, then the 5% lands on the combined total. A courier that quotes a higher freight cost raises the number duty is charged on, even when the goods themselves cost the same.
The Low-Value Exemption for Courier Parcels
Not every parcel pays duty. Dubai Customs exempts consignments below a set value from customs duty when they arrive by courier, so a low-value parcel can clear without a duty charge even though the 5% rate technically applies above it.
The threshold has moved twice since 2022. Dubai Customs cut it to AED 300 from January 2023. Two months later, from 1 March 2023, it suspended that cut and went back to the threshold in the GCC Unified Guide for Customs Procedures. A receiver planning around a remembered figure can get it wrong in either direction. Duty on a dutiable parcel applies to the full CIF value, not just the amount over the threshold.
VAT on Parcels From Thailand
VAT applies to imported goods in the UAE at the standard rate, on top of any customs duty owed. Separate charge, same shipment. From the UAE government's VAT page:
> "The rate of VAT is 5 per cent."
Source: Value added tax (VAT), u.ae.
It applies to "a taxable supply of goods or services at each step of the supply chain," which covers goods brought into the country from abroad. A parcel that clears the low-value exemption for duty is generally treated the same way for VAT, since both charges are assessed against the same consignment value.
What Dragon Courier Charges From Thailand
Rates below come from two Dragon Courier price lists, three months apart. The August list is the current tailor rate card, duty and tax included.
Weight | Price list | Price (THB) |
|---|---|---|
0.5 kg | 27 April 2026 | 563 |
1 kg | 27 April 2026 | 742 |
5 kg | 27 April 2026 | 2,170 |
0.5 kg | 3 August 2026 (tailor list, duty and tax included) | 779 |
2 kg | 3 August 2026 (tailor list, duty and tax included) | 1,284 |
5 kg | 3 August 2026 (tailor list, duty and tax included) | 2,570 |
Dragon Courier charges based on weight and dimension, then quotes the figure for the destination country, with no hidden fees or extra surcharges added afterward. Transit time on the UAE corridor depends on the parcel. Ask the team for the current estimate when getting a quote instead of assuming a fixed number of days. Dragon Courier's other markets work the same way, each with its own duty inclusive price list.
Why Pratunam Feeds the UAE Corridor
A large share of Dragon Courier's UAE shipments start in Pratunam, Bangkok's wholesale clothing district. Buyers shop in bulk there and send the goods home instead of carrying them on a flight. Justin Squibb, Dragon Courier's sales contact:
> "Philippines and UAE export is also 2 large market for us, we get many Philippinos which shop in thailand then send to us to both these countries."
> "Most of them stay in pratunam, very concentrated for our customer base."
The pattern mirrors Dragon Courier's Philippines corridor, another destination fed heavily by wholesale buyers who ship rather than fly their purchases home. For both corridors, the services that matter most are the same ones that matter for any parcel: weight based pricing, no volume discount, and duty already built into the quote.
How Dragon Courier handles it
Send the contents of the box and the receiver's name, address and contact number to get a quote. No account is required to start. Duty and tax are worked into the UAE price before the box leaves Thailand, so nothing is billed on arrival. Pick-up is free from shops in Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, and shops outside those cities send to the Bangkok office in Sukhumvit Soi 4 or the Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road.
Door to door tracking is provided on export day and can be shared with the receiver. Insurance is required on every shipment and covers loss, at a declared value the sender chooses. Once a shipment has been exported the address cannot be changed, so delivery details get checked before the box moves. Refund and cancellation limits are set out in the refund and cancellation policy.
About Dragon Courier
Dragon Courier is a Bangkok-based international courier shipping from Thailand to over 200 destinations. The business started in tailoring 30 years ago and has run under the same management team for most of that time. Today that is more than 20,000 shipments a month, duty and tax included on the main markets.
Contacts and drop-off
The contents of the box and where it is going are enough to get a quote. Office +66 2656 9019, WhatsApp and LINE at +66 6-5937-0812, or info@dragoncourier.com.
Drop-off runs until 17:00, Monday to Saturday, at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4 (217/3 Crystal Garden Building, 3rd floor, Klongtoey 10110) or the Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road. A pickup can be arranged in Bangkok and Pattaya for a date and time that suits.
Do I have to pay customs duty or VAT when Dragon Courier ships to the UAE?
No. Dragon Courier's price list has duty and tax built in, so nothing is billed to the receiver on delivery. Outside of that service, the UAE charges 5% customs duty above the low-value exemption for courier parcels, plus 5% VAT, both worked out on the shipment's combined value.
Is there a duty-free threshold for parcels sent to the UAE?
There is one, but it has changed twice since 2022 and Dubai Customs suspended the AED 300 version of it from 1 March 2023 in favour of the GCC-wide threshold. A dutiable parcel pays duty on its full value, not just the excess. Dragon Courier's duty inclusive price removes this calculation for the receiver either way.
How is Dragon Courier's UAE price calculated?
"We charge based on weight and dimension, then quote it for the country. We have no hidden fees or extra surcharges." The same one price policy applies to every customer, with no volume discounts.
What information is needed to send a parcel to the UAE?
The team's own words: "We need the contents of the package and the receiver's name, address, and contact number." Nothing else is needed to get a quote.
Where do most of Dragon Courier's UAE shipments come from?
A large share start in Pratunam, Bangkok's wholesale shopping district, where Gulf and Filipino buyers shop in bulk and ship the goods home instead of carrying them on a flight.
Shipping something from Thailand?
Tell us what you are sending and where it is going, and we will come back to you with a price and a realistic timeline.
Get a quote
