Is it (Custom)ary to bribe officials?
Customs is the duty that one pays for the goods being imported or exported from other countries. This is done as per a government mandate to keep a check on the goods flowing in and out of country. A customs officer is expected to inspect travellers carrying expensive goods and ensure due charges are paid as per the regulations. Reports, however, suggest that custom officers charge duty for goods that need to be registered without a receipt thus pocketing the money.
In a case posted on our site, a respondent who landed at the Bangalore international airport from Minneapolis shared his experience of having paid a bribe of Rs 7,500 to the customs check for the work laptop that he carried along. When asked for a receipt he was given a hand written receipt on a piece of paper with the excuse that the system was under maintenance.
Another respondent posted about how the gifts he had sent for his sister through United States Postal Service was held up by the customs department at the Mumbai Airport. The gift package costing around Rs 12,000 never reached his sister. The respondent had to cross check with the USPS through the tracking number of the product at the customs in India. Read more
In another case a respondent, an NRI who frequently travels to India reports how he was asked to pay by the custom officials every time he visited India. He says that every time they made attempts to demand bribe from him were left with no choice but to let him as he wasn’t carrying any products. He hasn’t paid a bribe even after visiting eight times but feels sad that he couldn’t get anything to his family till date. He chooses to stay away from custom officials than to pay them.