I was looking this up yesterday myself. Basically you can bring in your personal effects duty and tax free, that is for used items. New items attract 7% VAT. There's a lot of differing comments here. I took what I found directing from the Thai Customs website page.. I don't get it why one person here was charged 30% duty? It sounds like a shakedown to me. The way I look at it is, if you only have to pay $500 as some have suggested here, that's a bonus. It also depends on the value of your stuff when making your decision.. I guess to replace all my personal effects and clothing would cost anywhere between AUD$10-20,000. So, even if I had to pay $2,000 it's well worth it. The guy with the moped should have broken it down and put the pieces in multiple cartons. I'm not suggesting you break the law tho.

@Jim ******

yes, he was very sketchy as to how he obtained it in the first place. Sounds like some sort of miracle?