Outbound travellers will not have to declare all of their valuables at international airports during Songkran, the Customs Department said Tuesday in an unexpected volte-face.
For the sake of travellers' convenience during the April 12-16 festival, the department has repealed its recent announcement that valuables worth over 100,000 baht would need to be declared and deferred this to a later date, said Kulit Sombatsiri, the department's director-general.
The figure has now reverted back to 200,000 baht.
Customs Announcement No 60/2018, signed by Mr Kulit on Feb 26, raised eyebrows given that it was expected to cause longer waiting times at already stretched gateways such as Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang in Bangkok.
Outbound passengers with expensive watches, cameras or laptops -- all of which have serial numbers that can be verified -- were originally instructed to report to customs officers in the outbound passenger zone of Thai airports, according to the Feb 26 notice.
It was cancelled partly because the wording on the notice was misleading as the department had not intended to impose the rule so stringently, Mr Kulit said.
He said the notice was very similar to the one it replaced, which had expired, but this time the issue had gone viral on social media and sparked a public outcry.
In explaining the benefits of this controversial immigration rule to fliers, he said it advantaged certain types of travellers including film-making crews, as they would be able to breeze through customs in their destination country having already had their valuables stamped, he added.
However, Mr Kulit added that the department would not compromise on its crackdown on travellers who attempt to avoid paying import tax on products which they plan to sell in Thailand.
Checks on passengers with a known history of doing this will be stepped up over Songkran, he added.
People who bring personal items from overseas will have the import duty waived for items worth 20,000 baht or less, officials said.
Import taxes will also be waived for up to 100 cigarettes or one litre of spirits per passenger, they added.
Thailand decided in February to extend Songkran to five days.