Keyser

did you even bother to read my post before posting your unnessasarily attitude filled response????

i said if you are ready to pay the correct duty amount then the question of bribes are not in question....only if you are trying to escape duty is when bribes come into play....

i live in the very same india you live in....we are as much at fault for giving bribes as the corrupt officials are for taking them....when a traffic cop asks for a bribe then you have a choice of giving it to him or telling him to give you a ticket which you will have to pay legally....if a corrupt customs official asks for a bribe then you have the choice of giving it to him or paying the correct duty amount....

in the future i suggest you read my post properly before you decide to lecture me....

Maxwell Smart

And often times, once you express your willingness to pay the duty and/or do things in an official way, the corrupt customs officers are no longer interested in you. My experiences:

1. I brought more alcohol than allowed (my mistake, I had misread the allowance amount, and was 0.5L over). Customs guy was obviously looking for a bribe to let it go, and I told him I'd be happy to pay the duty, and to please go get me the appropriate paperwork to do so. He disappeared, never to return, and while I was waiting for him, another customs guy just told me I was free to leave.

2. I had some personal electronics (laptop, portable CD player, etc.) that I was told would require a duty payment (and was hinted that a bribe would take care of it). I told them these were items that I would be taking back with me, and to please have my passport noted as such so I could show the items to customs inspectors upon departure. Suddenly they decided it was no longer an issue and let me leave.

Keyser

my point exactly....once you are ready to do things the right way then the option of bribes doesn't come into question....

Yaatri

Why the invective? My experience has been difference. In more than 30 years of travel, I was once harassed by customs officials, which was resolved quickly. If you are polite, upfront and play by the rules, i.e. willing to pay the duty, they don't harass you.
Aren't you saying essentially what Keyser said--play by the rules?
BTW, Indian price list is not irrelevant. Customs duty is levied on normal market price, which might not be what you paid.

Whizkid

Naa, they got it figured out, The guy in SIN, notes down your passport# / Address from SG ID card / Takes a photo - Hands over the TV. Let his buddy back in India know the details, who is waiting outside airport to collect the TV and hands over the "GIFT"

Given that, the LCD/LED TVs are 60% less in Singapore - I guess it's worth playing for these folks.

I traveled with just a backpack against folks who were maxing out their luggage allowance and was approached by one of these guys - I had a chat with him after he finished his job and got to know the details on the trade -

Yaatri

Right, people who act smart and try to get one over the customs officer are the ones harassed. I have taken video and photography equipment in the days when the duty free allowance was pitifully low and the duty 300%. I stated I would re-export the equipment when I left India and requested that it may be noted in my passport. The customs officer dutifully made the notation, along with serial numbers etc. This was nearly 30 years ago. Treat perople respectfully and honestly and you will be treated well. If you talk to them with an attitude, they will get you.

srirams

I believe the point is that its a risky thing to trust a stranger, and to carry goods which may contain unknown items. If an airline employee sees someone doing this, they will ban them from flying.

Whizkid

Exactly my view - If I choose to fly with just a backpack - there is a reason behind it & why would I carry a TV along with it and given how SE Asian Counties about Drugs & Smuggling - why would I take that risk.

Yaatri

Someone in Singapore might smuggle drugs in n LED TV out of Singapore? That's hilarious.
What innte world are you talking about? I wouldn't want to be bothered with the undertaking at all even for my family. There is no one I know who wants a TV so badly from Singapore so that they would deal with a Indian scam depriving customs if duty. Then people complain about customs officer harassing passengers.

DFW DL

My apologies if you were offended by my post, but I did fully read it and your statement that "there is no question of bribes now" could have been misleading to those outside India. Your post above would seem to agree that solicitation of bribes is a part of everyday life, which was my point exactly. I agree that many times we have a choice whether to pay or not, but when a Customs officer is hassling you for duty on an item when none is due or a Police officer is writing you up for a traffic offense that didn't happen...what choice does one have?

It is my sincerest hope that someday your statement becomes true and that we will be free from the stain of corruption in our society...unfortunately we have a long path to travel to get there.

Keyser

thank you for the apology....its seems as we are all in agreement of the situation....even i sincerely hope one day we are free of the day to day corruption that plagues our country....