• I Paid A Bribe
• 14 years ago
• 6046 views

Customs hassle at hyderabad airport

• Customs, Excise and Service Tax
• Customs Check and Clearance
• Paid INR 2,000

I collected my baggage which came a good 1 hr after the plane landed. One pf the bags was marked with a 'X' mark using chalk. I noticed several others marked similarly. As I was exiting, there were 2 Q's. One long and the other short. Like any smart over enthusiastic traveller I volunteered to the shorter line and realized that it was indeed a special line. several men in civil dresses were checking the passengers baggage and askingthe one's with the 'X' to join the shorter lane. Knowing that I was not carrying anything beyond the limits mentioned on the website, I was not overly concerned. While I was waiting for my turn several men in civil dress would come and give contradicting instructions. To put just the bag with the mark on the scanner, to put only checked in luggage and one to put everything thru. I just pput everythjing thru the scanner. Once your baggage comes out of the scanner, another person in civil dress guided me to one of the 4 counters with uniformed personnel sitting behind. I went to counter 3 where a family was having a friendly chat with the officer on why they should be allowed whatever they were getting. I waited for a while for my turn while they negotiated. The gentlemen on the next counter then asked me why I was there. I told him I had no clue and was hoping that somebody would tell me what the issue was. He asked me go the the middle aged moderately fat lady in counter 1 and then to come to him. So I went to this lady who asked me questions about what I am doing etc... (In retrospect I should not have answered her Q's until she told me what the issue was). So she asked me what I have. I told her I have my laptop, phone, camera and the standard allowed 2 L of alcohol. She asked me to show the camera, laptop etc...which I did. She had an eye on my baggage and should have noticed that I did not have much in there. She asked me if I had an ipad, another phone or more alcohol etc. She then called her coworker to ********** the value of the camera. a $100 used camera whihc her coworker assessed at Rs10000. And then on her scratchpad she started to put down the values of all the goods. She said we are allowed an allowance of Rs25000 and anything over that wd be taxed. That made no sense to me. A laptop itself wd cost more than Rs25000. I told her of what I read on the website. She refused to admit it and went on with her calculation to end up with a bill of Rs10000.
I was not sure what I should do. I have travelled for more than 24 hours and was pretty exhausted. I wanted proof of the law she was referring to but none was offered. I asked for my options, like can I take the bill now and pay it later after consulting a lawyer. 24 hours of sleeplessness can do that do you. I shd have known I was already in India. She said she can make a consideration if that amount is too big for me. She asked me to put $40 in the passport and pass it on the side (probably to avoid the cameras). After carefully evaluating my options which weren't many considering I did not have Rs10000 in cash on me. And I have already been waiting for more than 3 hrs after the plane landed. I was exhausted and too eager to get out of the place. $40 seemed a small price to save me an hour in that hell. so i handed her the passport with cash and walked out of there.

What could have helped me
1. Unambiguous rules on the website. I would have carried less or come prepared to pay the tax appropriately.
2. Postpone customs clearance: option to walk out and collect baggage from customs later (as long as its not drugs etc). I can come back fresh with more energy to put up with the hassle.
3. Helpline number to check and confirm the rules.
4. Option to get a ticket and pay later. Maybe this might be possible after we have Aadhar implemented throughout.