- I Paid A Bribe
- 5 years ago
- 5376 views
A thousand bribe and a bottle of Johnny Walker
- Customs, Excise and Service Tax
- Customs Check and Clearance
- Paid INR 4,000
I had read in quite a few blogs that I could carry a bottle of liquor with me, while leaving Puducherry, as long as it is for personal consumption. I had bought a bottle of johnny walker black label(priced at about 3000) before I left for Bangalore after my vacation in Puducherry. I was stopped at a check post(at around 12 45pm on 7th Oct 2019, on the way to Bengaluru) and the liquor was found inside my bag. I was taken into a shack, which was like a makeshift office of the officials. I was asked whether I should be charged with a felony for smuggling liquor, or if I were willing to pay 10k, just to get out of it. I tried to argue that the bottle was for my personal usage, and thus should be allowed to be taken with me. I was then told that there were no such laws, and as the by-election was around the corner, I could be charged with more serious offenses(Which caught me off guard, as I had seen messages about closing the bars early until Oct 21, 2019, due to by-elections, in the hotel where i had stayed). At last, I paid around 1000 as bribe for not to be charged, and had to leave the bottle there with them.I still don’t know what was it that was wrong, which I did, carrying the bottle or paying the bribe. It was not an opened bottle, if it were, perhaps they would have let me leave, as they couldn’t have done anything with that bottle, other than consume it.