- I Paid A Bribe
- 14 years ago
- 1961 views
Paying to leave the country
- Customs, Excise and Service Tax
- Customs Check and Clearance
- Paid INR 1,000
I traveled from Varanasi to Kathmandu yesterday. The first stint of the journey was overnight so I arrived at the border at Sanauli at 6am having had virtually no sleep.
The border guard pointed out some small print on my visa saying if I'd stayed longer than 180 days I had to register. It was a 6 month visa and I'd stayed less than 6 months (just) but the guard said 6 months was 185 days and he'd have to send me back to Delhi unless I gave him 1000 Rps.
It was only later in the day I heard he'd tried charging everyone who went through for different reasons, including a 100 Rp night tax. It was then that I did the maths and realised I hadn't stayed longer than 180 days but at the time I didn't think I had a choice but to hand over the money.