Tax Payable

I cant remember the exact amount but remember being charged about 10,000 yen for some Vader armor parts when they arrived - was quite miffed.
What I do is ask the party who is sending the goods to stick a note in the box saying "Happy Birthday Danny!" because if its a gift then tax over here is not payable.

I know that at Amazon you can designate goods as a gift before its sent - even if its sent to yourself.
But the folks at customs must be thinking "how many birthdays has Danny had this year?!"
Only joking - I only do this once a year on my birthday...

Whats the most you've paid on goods that you have received before?

Original text from G2 below.

Received my figures last Monday and was informed that I need to pay cash for GST (Goods & Services Tax) and handling fee. According to the deliveryman, as long as the things I purchased from oversea exceeds S$300 and delivered to Singapore, I need to pay GST.

Encounter this for the first time, so I was quite surprised. More at my blog.

Did anyone encounter this too?

• Akihabara News - Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
  
• Japan Probe - Japan news and entertainment (Subscribe)
  
• Kirainet.com - A geek in Japan (Subscribe)