Problems with import of DVD collection?

[elpatre]

Hi,

in March'07 i will move to Singapore and i am just planning all the details of my relocation. Now since i am a big DVD Fan and i have a collection of about 300 original DVDs, i would really much like to bring those with me.
Since there are quite hard tariff regulations i would like to ask you if anybody knows about possible problems (with movies R-Rated, only horror, no porn) and if there are any taxes to pay on imported DVDs.

Thaaanks!!
Cheers
Florian

[pstanley]

Hi,

in March'07 i will move to Singapore and i am just planning all the details of my relocation. Now since i am a big DVD Fan and i have a collection of about 300 original DVDs, i would really much like to bring those with me.
Since there are quite hard tariff regulations i would like to ask you if anybody knows about possible problems (with movies R-Rated, only horror, no porn) and if there are any taxes to pay on imported DVDs.

Thaaanks!!
Cheers
Florian

This is something I have been wondering about as well! Also will the DVD's have to go through the censorship board (and be edited)?

Thanks

[Trudi]

We got the following information from our forwarding agent. Company will pay for all the relocation costs beside the viewing of books and movies. Books and movies will be viewed when going through customs and this will be charged on a hourly basis

[elpatre]

hm, thats really strange. Maybe someone has more information on this topic. Is there some kind of rule or list that claims the movies that are not allowed, and do they charge fees for dvds at all??

[ProvenPracticalFlexible]

hm, thats really strange. Maybe someone has more information on this topic. Is there some kind of rule or list that claims the movies that are not allowed, and do they charge fees for dvds at all??

No guaranteed list but you can do a search for your movies if they have been viewed and possibly accepted or banned from Media Development Authority's Film Classification Database:

http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/resources.aspx?sid=159

Search funtion is not perfect but you can get it working with little practice; choose at least one criteria from the dropdown lists.

[saidean]

If your movie has already been certified, it'll cost you $1.80 per movie. If it has not been previously certified, it'll cost by the hour to have it vetted.

http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/1001qns.a ... hor_Anchor

If you don't declare them in your consignment, and if they are kept in non-distinguishing ways, it *is* possible to bring them in. Of course, the risk remains - possession of non-certified materials is still an offence. But then again, the stickers for certification are found on the boxes, and not imprinted or glued to the actual dvd *major hint*

[Bafana]

Just put in your lugage on the plane and show it to customs on the way out if they ask - Normally its not a big deal and the other way is just a pointless exercise.

[lost_canuck]

umm okay I am totally lost and confused, we moved here the company paid all shipping costs, i never considered books and movies being banned or not allowed or we had to pay to bring them. What? okay so if they decide you can't bring something in because it is offensive do they take it away and inform you or just sort of quietly whisk away your belongings?

[saidean]

i never considered books and movies being banned or not allowed or we had to pay to bring them. What? okay so if they decide you can't bring something in because it is offensive do they take it away and inform you or just sort of quietly whisk away your belongings?

Ignorance of the law, unfortunately, is not an excuse. And it's not a matter of whether a movie is offensive or not, but a matter of whether it is certified by the local authority, and all movies must be certified. So let's say you have the movie Stand By Me imported in. It still needs to be certified (ie with the censorship board sticker slapped on it) and if it's in the media development authority's list of vetted movies, you pay $1.80 for the certification. If it is not in tha list, the cost is based on per hour of the movie. (Not sure exact price.)

I wouldn't worry too much about books but movies is another matter altogether. If you declared all your DVDs (or even just "DVDs") in your shipping consignment, then it's up to Fate if it'll be halted and inspected by customs and then impounded. They'll then ask you to pay them a visit and explain what you're doing with all the DVDs. You can plead that you are ignorant, and they MAY give you the option of shipping them all back or to someone else, so long as it does not enter the country. Or you may send them for vetting, in which case there will be costs involved (can be hefty if your movies are not the mainstream ones).

Your best hope is that it'll just breeze through customs and right onto your doorstep. That might happen, or it might not. But they will inform you if they decide to check your DVDs. The key method of 'detection' is your shipping documents... random opening of boxes do occur but as CDs look like DVDs nowadays, they may not do a thorough check and it might pass right through.

[lost_canuck]

so they tell you if there is a problem? I don't really know if any are missing but I got all my stuff last week, at least I think I did, who can remember what you own after not seeing it for months on end.

[jpatokal]

As so often in Singapore, the law is ridiculously strict, and enforcement is lax. Quite a few people on this forum have shipped in their DVDs and, as long as it's obvious that they're originals (not pirated) and not blatant hardcore porn or something, they've been completely ignored by customs.

Hands up: has anybody here actually had to pay for the hourly screening? Or even heard of somebody who had to?

[micknlea]

I do know someone who had their dvds taken away and videos cut so that they lost the plot totally (french movies...that anywhere else got a 21 type rating but here had the sex scenes cut, thereby taking out most of the reason for the movie...).

I think a lot depends on where you are coming from...they are very big on looking out for pirated stuff, so if anywhere in Asia they are a little more stringent.

Normally your moving company will ask for a list of all your DVDs.

[elpatre]

alright, bringing in my DVDs in the lugage would be a little bit complicated, since i am talking about ~350 DVDs...So what i could do is checking all titles in that "Film Classification Database" link posted above. I will hand over my moving company a list with my DVDs and they will include "DVDs" in the customs papers. Now either i am lucky and my stuff will pass without closer inspection, or they will check the stuff, whereat If it appears that one of my movies is not certified yet, which i am pretty sure about, they will charge me on an hourly basis, now in which cases could it theoretical happen that they will take DVDs away? And is the procedure described above realistic and correct?

[ChicagoMike]

seriously. do you really need to bring 300 DVDs to Singapore??? When are you going to watch them? you know that the weather in Singapore is much nicer than Germany, right? And you can buy new ones here very cheaply? then there is the region code issue...

joking aside, I can understand your thought process, since I did a similar thing with my CD collection when I moved to europe. but it really wasn't that helpful to have them in my house, and there were many that I never listened to during my years there. Now it is just a big hastle to have them (ok, music CDs are different from DVDs because you can easily copy the music to an MP3 player... but still). You might want to reconsider if you really need to bring all of them (and you can sell the ones you decide not to bring).

[elpatre]

hm...in the end you are probably right, its just that i started with my collection about 5 years ago, and have a lot of rare dvds that i actually dont want to sell...And since my company pays for the move i thought, why shouldnt i bring the collection with me. Its just that id didnt expect it to be that difficult