- I Paid A Bribe
- 14 years ago
- 2849 views
"Import" Duty
- Airports
- Immigration Check
- Paid INR 588
I flew into Bangalore from the US to train our new staff at our software support office. I brought with me some personal electronic items like CD player, camera, PDA, etc. When I got off the plane I came to where my bags were coming off the plane and they were taken to an xray scanner. Yes, my checked baggage was being xrayed as it was coming off the plane. After ********** bags were scanned, a man who was observing the xray images of my bags made a note on a card in a language I could not read. He told me to take my bags and leave the area in a direction he pointed. On my way out, an official looking man in brown uniform and hat, stopped me and asked for the card. He looked at the card and said, "That will be $500 import duty." I said, "Import duty for what?" He replied, "For the electronic devices." I refused saying these were my personal devices, I would be leaving the country with them, and I was not paying. I had no cash to pay such fees. He then said, "Ok, $100". I told him no and took the $13 out of my wallet, my only cash on hand, and told him that's all I had. He said, "Tip then," took my cash, and stepped out of my way for me to leave. So it was a forced "tip".