- I Paid A Bribe
- 14 years ago
- 217 views
Paid Rs 5500 for my Xbox and Home Theater
- Customs, Excise and Service Tax
- Customs Check and Clearance
- Paid INR 5,500
I returned from my business trip to US after a month and i purchased an Xbox 360 ($300) and an Onkyo home theater System ($300). I thought according to the rule anything till Rs25000 would not be charged for custom duty. So i though even if they calculate it to be Rs 40000 worth then i would end up paying....
35% or (40000 - 25000) = (35 * 15000)/100 = 5250 (Approx )
and i was ready for it, but the customs officer misguided me and said that we don't want to see your purchase receipts. we would check what is the cost of these things in India, and said that roughly the cost would go around Rs 60000 or above, and i would need to pay around Rs 10000 or above.
He asked me for Rs 5000 cash, i had only 2500, so he asked me to get it from the ATM, both the ATM's were not working in the Airport, then he asked me to give the chocolates which were bought from the Duty Free Shop($57) along with the Rs2500 cash. The other police constable who was with him asked me to purchase couple of Black Label bottles, although he paid for it but took an undue advantage from me. it was midnight when i reached the Mumbai Airport and just wanted to be home as soon as possible. I ended up paying.....
Rs2500 Cash + $57 Chocolates + Rs 300 to the constable
It would be better to have an online system where people can go and check the base price of the items which would be considered by the custom department while those are being brought by people like me, it can be a gift or something which someone asked you to bring on his behalf.....we need a better system were we would know how much and why we are being charged.