'Pay import duty, don't drop names'

Says Deputy Collector of Customs, after launching a crackdown on cricketers and celebs carrying imported liquor without paying duty

Name-dropping as a strategy to clear the Customs at the international airport has been a rampant menace for the past several years.
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But not anymore, if the new directives by Deputy Collector of Customs Sameer Wankhede are anything to go by.


Customs officials say many cricketers and stars seek personal favours by asking authorities to exempt them from paying import duty, especially on liquor

In the past, celebrities would often head straight for the green channel, despite carrying goods that attract import duty, and use their star status to influence junior Customs officers.

However, in the last couple of weeks, the Customs Department has been cracking down on such celebs and ensuring that all imported goods are properly checked and paid for.

Wankhede is making an effort to ensure that celebrities and cricketers do not enjoy any impunity at the airport, and are treated as equals with all passengers.

And senior Customs officials have resolved not to spare cricketers who have been seeking personal favours by dropping names to evade import duty, particularly on high value foreign liquor, on their arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

In the past few weeks, over 200 international travellers, including celebrities, have been forced to pay import duty at the airport.

Even bags intended for passage through the green channel are being checked to ensure that all passengers are treated equally as part of the rigorous drive.

The matter came to the fore after one Pankaj Patel approached a senior Customs officer stating that he wanted to carry two bottles of branded scotch intended for a Mumbai-based cricketer.

Sweet talk
The Customs officer agreed to allow Patel, who he thought was a business associate of the cricketer, to carry the expensive liquor bottles through the Customs enclosure. He agreed on the grounds that two bottles were allowed in any case.

However, when the consignment arrived, the Customs officer inspected the baggage and found that there were 12 bottles stashed among the valuables.

The officer was taken aback by the sly move and insisted that duty be paid for all the bottles. The passenger was hesitant to pay the duty and soon resorted to making a series of calls from his cellphone.

A few minutes later, the star batsman was on the line and pleaded with the officer to release the bottles. After haggling for some time, six bottles were released, informed an officer, who was on duty at that time.

An officer pointed out that most cricketers resort to name-dropping tactics and exert pressure on the junior officers to release the goods.

"Some cricketers and film actors are so shameless that they begin calling up senior officers like ACPs and DCPs to ensure that their goods are not subjected to import duty.

This is contrary to how poor immigrant labourers from the Gulf countries pay duty on their belongings without raising any hue and cry," the officer further added.