SINGAPORE - A 34-year-old man who tried to evade goods and services tax (GST) on more than 200 long dresses bought in Malaysia was stopped by Singapore Customs officers last Thursday (June 28).

In a Facebook post on Monday night, Singapore Customs said that the Singaporean man was found to have under-declared the value of the items while passing through Woodlands Checkpoint.

Investigations revealed that the actual value of the dresses was about seven times higher than the amount declared by the man, the post said.

This meant that the GST evaded amounted to more than $370.

The dresses were meant for sale in Singapore and the man attempted to evade GST to maximise his profits, the post said.

He was issued with a fine - known as a composition sum - of $3,700.

Singapore Customs said in its post that it is the responsibility of travellers to make accurate and complete declarations of all taxable items brought into Singapore.

Anyone who fails to declare or make an incorrect declaration of taxable goods may receive a composition sum of up to 10 times the amount of duty and/or GST evaded, or be prosecuted in court.