safari_7

Hi! I returned to India into the Mumbai airport from overseas on April 2nd (photography related holiday). Now the photography gear and kit all purchased in India, used several times and brought back home....... I didn't see a need to declare it on the way out (Nikon Gear). Have never done so in several trips over the past many years.

Anyways, a nightmare entry into India. The Customs officials all work hand in glove...... argued endlessly, demanded cash and a bribe to have me avoid footing a huge import tax bill. Ridiculous!!! Finally, after raising my voice and creating a fuss....... I had to pay the fellows 400$ in cash away from the video monitors (in front of the toilets). They are terrible and pathetic. Horrible way to return home.

Any suggestion as to whom I can write to ...... I think more people need to be aware of the goings-on.

I know I'm only adding fuel to the fire by encouraging the system of corruption by having paid the bribe - but, trust me in that situation that's all I could do!

SQ421

Surely there would've been some way to prove that your equipment had been used previously. Existing photos on the memory cards, or something.

By no means do I wish to condone the actions of those officials, but once you have paid the bribe, I doubt there is much you can do about it. Filing a complaint is not likely to get you anywhere, unless a particularly conscientious officer happens to notice it. One way would've been to have them write up an import tax bill, and then contest the same but I know that would only cause you further hassles, and you'd have have to leave the equipment at the Customs.

Since you were using a professional photography gear, can I assume you are connected to media? That being the case, maybe you can leverage some of your contacts to take this to some logical conclusion. Then again, not liking your chances.

I am truly surprised at the chain of events though, as it seems a lot like something that used to occur maybe 10 years ago, but had since died down. I am a Bombay native and have arrived at the International Airport a few times, always on Singapore Airlines (Singapore seems to be a point of origin that attracts "extra" customs inspection) but have never had any hassles.

Only once was I asked about the wrist watch in my bag, that showed up on x-ray, and the officer had no interest whatsoever upon being told that it was purchased for 2500INR (about 50USD), three years ago.

d3vski

It all depends on the type of cameras you used, if they were expensive professional looking ones, its best to declare them on the way out of the country so that you do not have problems coming back in.

Although customs at BOM have improved in their behaviour, there are times when they can be ar*eholes. Last september i arrived on Finnair at around 8AM, at the same time a flight from Kuwait had arrived. The customs were out in full force, we all had to queue up to have bags screened as we left the terminal.

but guess what, there was a official going through the queue picking out white people and waiving them through. The only people left were of Indian origin. I guess its a lot easier to hassle natives then to ruin image of india by hassling foreigners who are visiting.

It all depends when your flight arrives, generally if you arrive at the same time or on a flight from the Middle east and you are of Indian origin regardless of passport, you will be selected for baggage x ray!

I know this is bad but always have US dollars with you, they seem to love it and will take it happilly in a worse to worse situation!

drbala

I travel at least 6 times to India every year and have passed through Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi airports. I declare the actual value in my luggage and have NEVER EVER been stopped or hassled by customs officials. On the other hand, I have been stopped and X-Rayed in Bangkok, London and USA of course cleared with no problems.
As far as I am aware Nikon does not have a legal outlet in India many many years ago. Where did you buy the equipment in India and did you show the receipt. I had a similar experience at London Heathrow. They seized my camera equipment and after producing receipt released it.
I do not dispute that corrupt custom officials do exist and protecting yourself with legal documentation is very important in any country.

safari_7

I did show [them] the memory cards with pics. They wanted legal documentation....... I do admit, that it's my fault that I did not declare it on my way out. I was returning from safari in Africa - hence the expensive equipment.

Yes, you can buy Nikon in India these days - now marketed in India.

I have carried the very same kit several times in the past and never questioned.

I suppose, lesson learnt - I had the same impression that things were easier to deal with. But, corruption is a huge part of everyday India and the customs dept in the Mumbai airport are complete holligans.

RAJRS

[QUOTE=d3vski;11541163]

Although customs at BOM have improved in their behaviour, there are times when they can be ar*eholes. Last september i arrived on Finnair at around 8AM, at the same time a flight from Kuwait had arrived. The customs were out in full force, we all had to queue up to have bags screened as we left the terminal.


It all depends when your flight arrives, generally if you arrive at the same time or on a flight from the Middle east and you are of Indian origin regardless of passport, you will be selected for baggage x ray!


Never had any problem while arrived by DL,NW,LX,9W at BOM.
Very very smooth procedure.
Offcourse no middle east flight arrived at same time.

RAJRS.

Yaatri

When any items that are subject to customs duty, when normally purchased abroad, are bought at home and then taken out of the country, should be declared when exported from the country. That works for India, as well as for any other country. I remember reading about that when I first went to India. I had bought a Canon F-1 in the U.S., which I was taking with me to India in 1982. I kept the receipts with me so that I would not be paying duty when I returned to the U.S. When I entered India at DEL, I declared the camera, which I planned to re-export from India. I told the customs officer that they could make a notation on my passport that I was importing the camera into India temporarily and that if I did not re-export it, I would be subject to customs duty. Since the customs officer was only interested in making money off me, didn't even bother to make an entry in my (Indian) passport. When returning to the U.S. a couple of months later, I had the customs officer make a notaion that I was exporting a Canon F-1 from India. This gave me the freedom to re-import into India anytime duty free and even sell it if I wanted to. I never sold the camera, although I had lucrative offers and kept it until it was stolen from my apartment after Katrina.

You made a mistake by not ensuring when you left India, that you had some documented indication to prove that the camera was originally bought in India. The customs officers are, of course, in the wrong. Let this be an expensive lesson to you. You could file a formal complaint. But you don't know what the customs officer will say if any action is taken on your complaint. You do realise that bribing a customs officer is an offense.

I have never, ever paid any duty on any item I have taken into India on my annual (sometimes twice a year) trips to Delhi. I have taken things such as video cameras, laptops, digital cameras, which I have always brought back with me. From what I have heard is that the customs officers never bother those with foreign, passports from countries such as the U.S., Australia, European countries, Japan, Korea etc. They usually victimise Indians with Indian passports, especially those arriving from the Middle East, Singapore, Bangkok or Hongkong

Yaatri

If you had paid the duty, rather than giving a bribe, you would have been in a stronger position, assuming you would be able to prove that it was bought in India when you filed your complaint.

hserus

Even if you have paid - go file a complaint with the customs and vigilance authorities

http://www.cbec.gov.in/grievance.htm
http://cvc.nic.in/lodgecomp.htm
http://cvc.nic.in/cvoques2.htm

yensoy

The OP appears to be a resident Indian, and that might account for the difference in treatment. Foreigners and NRIs are more trouble than they are worth, which is why they are not messed with. There is a lot of profiling going on in the officer's mind (your nationality, occupation, duration of stay, appearance etc), and that's no different from anywhere else in the world.

My only experience with Customs was when I was bringing in a PC. I actually wanted to pay the duty which was a small sum anyway. It took the customs officer forever to find the paperwork and write up the invoice. He clearly hadn't done this in a long time. Then off to the bank to get money exchanged. It's ridiculous that duty must be paid in rupees, which are illegal to hold outside of India and therefore would be illegal to hold at the point of entry (maybe that rule has been relaxed now). Overall I spent about 40 minutes, and had the satisfaction of a legally imported PC together with a nice story to tell.

FYI, when your checkin luggage reaches the carousel it's already been x-rayed. If you find a chalk mark on the box, it's been tagged. Carry a wet tissue with you and covertly erase the chalk mark.

safari_7

Thanks a lot for all your replies and suggestions. Expensive lesson learnt and shall handle it suitably next time....... I guess India hasn't changed afterall, and the customs officials are just as awful and corrupt as before.

One more thing....... after finding the loophole with the camera goodies and the amounts..... they then went onto inspect each item of my duffle bag to see what else they can dig up (although it already went through the scanner). Just dirty clothes from the safari, but, they were disgusting handling every item of clothing in front of the whole world. Cheap B#$$ards .......

Thanks all........

Yaatri

That was to wear your resistance down. You were already tired after you trip, but additional harassment would make wear you down. You will also be less likely to think rationally when you are tired.

I have had only one run in with customs officials. I did not pay them a cent. We arrived in DEL from LHR, but our baggage did not. When I reported missing baggage to the airlne, they advised us to have a copy of the missing baggage report stamped and signed by a customs officer. In absence of such a document, you are assumed to have exhausted your duty free allowance. When our baggage arrived a few days later, we went to the airport to pic it up. The customs guys thought they were going to have a field day. They wanted to charge me for every little thing I had, such as personal toiletries, my son's toys, toys for my niece and nephew. The idiots picked up a toy mobile phone that did nothing but played ring tones when you pushed a button claiming it was a dutiable item. I laughed so hard. I said he could keep it, if he could make a call with it. Then he wanted to charge me duty on diapers, which were, of course, "unused" . He added up everything and claimed my duty would be about Rs 30,000. I told him he wasnlt getting a penny. He got his supervisor. I showed him the document stamped and signed by a customs officer indicating our baggage had not arrived with us. His tone changed suddenly. Sir, why didn't you show this before? I told him I had but the guy was so busy harassing me. Then he yelled at the officer "yaar tumhe kitnee baar kaha hai ke foreigners ko mat tang kiya karo"-- "How many times have I told you not to harass foreigners".

Brahmin

Once when I arrived in Bombay, I was being harassed because I had 3 bottles of Scotch. This was in the morning at around 8:00 AM. I could have left the bottle for them , but, I wanted to put them in their place. I opened the bottle, had a big swig, spat in the bottle in front of them and left it behind.
On all my other trips, no problems ever.

safari_7

I like that!

SQ421

Given the duty free allowance for importing liquor into India is 2 bottles (no more than 2L), I believe the customs officers were well within their rights to ask you to pay duty.

While they had no business to harass you, your actions just seem to be that of a petulant person eager to have his/her way.