- I Paid A Bribe
- 13 years ago
- 211 views
An unwitting bribe
- Customs, Excise and Service Tax
- Customs Check and Clearance
- Paid INR 5,500
I arrived at Bangalore Airport from the US with a 42" LED TV (bought at about $900), prepared to pay customs in Indian currency. I was asked to proceed to the customs counter, where a lady (likely in her 50s) looked at the bill for the TV, pulled up a calculator and computed 37.5% of some number related to the cost of the TV (Rs. 20000, as I calculate it now, in retrospect) and said I was to pay up Rs. 7500 to release the TV. I was OK with paying this money, when she asked me if I wanted a bill for this transaction. Seeing no harm in it, I said "sure", to which she said, "OK, give me Rs. 5500 and you can take the TV". That's when I started to wonder if all those numbers even meant anything. Of course, the fact that I was being fleeced by a motherly figure was no consolation. I was amused as I exited the airport bill-less, after paying up the cash. I had missed all of the ********** Hazare madness while I was outside the country, and the first thing I could think of when I arrived back to my home country was "********** or no **********, corruption is here to stay".