BLR Customs - Difficult?
 

Was wondering how strict BLR Customs officers tend to be - as compared to DEL or BOM?

As far as I have experienced, they are going to scan all hand bags looking for gold and "extra laptop" or "cell phone" (YMMV). The checked in bag is also scanned either before it hits the belt or before you exit customs hall. So there is really no difference between the airports you mention.

But if you are landing in a small airport which sees few international flights a day then the immigration and customs are like getting the third degree. Those airports are to be avoided.

Almost identical. Hand luggage & checked in bags are both scanned before you are allowed to exit.

As others have said, almost identical. You will find more variation within an airport at different times - if the lines are long or depending on the mood of the officers sometimes they will wave through people with just one or two bags, or will skip scanning all the bags, etc. But I can't say they are systematically more or less "strict" in BLR.

Not particularly different from BOM or DEL.

Its seamless.. hand bag is scanned immediately after immigration before baggage claim..

checked bags are scanned prior to loading on belt.. if suspicious - they chalk mark it.. customs guys near exit have you scan if your bags are chalk marked.. else - keep walking..

usually i've been out to car in 20 mins even during COVID period..

Saw this on Twitter and remembered the 'good old days' :D

No visible difference. What are you bringing in? Other than usual contraband the focus is on gold (and to a lesser extent electronics). Otherwise you should be fine.

This still happens if you cross into India from Nepal by land!

Why does this matter unless you're trying to sneak in stuff and now shopping airports to find an easy entry?

Huh. The last time my hand luggage was x-rayed at CCU upon arrival was maybe 10-15 years ago. Checked luggage may be x-rayed before it reaches the belt, I wouldn't know. The days when selected luggage was marked with chalk (which I removed using hand wipe from packets) are also long gone. Even the customs declaration slips are no longer used. Just walk out.

Can it really be that different in other airports? I haven't passed through DEL in ~10 years, but at that time certainly no attention was paid to my hand luggage or (to my knowledge) checked luggage.

In DEL & BOM almost every bag (checked-in & hand luggage) is scanned before you are allowed to leave. I have been told its similar in BLR as well.

The chalk mark is still in action in CCU, they screen the luggage before it comes to the belt. BOM has the chalk mark last year the (multiple) whiskey bottles I had in the checked luggage for my father were detected and chalk marked. Xray before leaving the baggage area is deployed off and on in BOM&DEL depending on what flights arrive and how greedy the customs gets. They usually go for fleecing the migrant laborers (GCC flights) or the traders (BKK flights).

Interesting. I know this doesn't prove anything, but I have never seen a chalkmark in the new CCU terminal, either on my luggage or anyone else's. There is certainly no X-ray machine for hand luggage between immigration and baggage claim, the way there used to be in the old terminaL. The immigration forms no longer have a tear-off Customs slip, and while the first year or so there was a separate Customs form, now there isn't. Yes, they mainly hassle laborers and couriers. I haven't had any hassle in decades.

Of course, now that Customs is a breeze, there is nothing worth sneaking past Customs. Everything is available in India, maybe a bit more expensive, but not like the good old days when things were unavailable unless your NRI relatives brought it.

So carry some napkins or something to wipe off chalk mark on the checked bag after retrieving it from the carousel? I’m in the limits for alcohol. 2 bottles. I do have about 10 bottles of maple syrup. And I do t want to get stopped for manual inspection at Delhi, We land at 0230. And there’s a 0415 T2 departure that I would love to get on. Instead of waiting around for the 0610 that we have booked,

I haven't visited BLR since the pandemic started, but I've never had a bag (checked or hand) scanned when leaving. I'm sure they scan checked bags at some point in the process. The same experience for my immediate family, breezing past nothing to declare without any issues.