Comment Pieces

Bending it like customs officers

“They opened my suite case with a screwdriver and looked in. Then stuck it back with packing tape. The officer then told me there is no provision to bring in Baby clothes. So i told him he can keep it all and I will come back later with a minister and other officials and deal with him. Finally he settled for Rs. 500 - else he would not let me go nor let me leave the items.”

A detailed manual for providing information on goods that attract ‘bribes’ as opposed to customs charges ought to be distributed to flyers returning from abroad. Oh wait, do we need one? Policemen and customs officers manning customs channels have the knack of spotting a potential object that can help them rake in some extra moolah. More importantly, they have the knack of seeing the hidden (bribe tag) value of every object, whether it is a used Ipad, baby clothes or even a piece of scrap.

What next, we wonder. Bribe tags even on children born abroad?

Farfetched, you may say. Well, we don’t think so!