27 May,2011 06:39 AM IST | | Bipin Kumar Singh
Mumbai customs catch the Bong beauty with Rs 65,000 worth of undeclared goods; amazed by her poise as she pays up Rs 12,000 in duty without a tantrum
In the recent past, as a pack of personalities as well as the not-so-famous have got stuck in the green channel with a bag full of undeclared goods, the customs officials may not have been appalled at one more duty evader yesterday. But what took them by surprise was her composure. Actor Bipasha Basu was arrested by Mumbai customs officials last afternoon for carrying undeclared goods worth Rs 60,000-65,000. However, unlike her precedents, the dusky siren did not baulk at shelling out the customs duty. Nor did she employ pretexts like 'I don't know what the law is' to wiggle out of the spot. Instead, she accepted her mistake and paid the taxu00a0-- Rs 12,000u00a0-- on the extra goods in full. What's more, she even said kudos for the customs officials.
No sweat: Bipasha Basu
"She was intercepted while crossing the green channel with undeclared goods valued around Rs 65,000. She was penalised with a duty of Rs 3,000," said a customs officer.u00a0 "But unlike other passengers, who when caught for customs breaches invariably say they are not aware of the law, she accepted her mistake. She was humble and cooperative." Around noon yesterday, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Sameer Wankhede, intercepted Bipasha who was carrying undeclared goods worth around Rs 65,000, minutes after her flight from London landed at Mumbai international airport. The items including eight pairs of sandals, bags and costly watches.
Confirming the incident, Additional Commissioner of Customs (Air Intelligence Unit) Mahendra Pal said, "She was carrying undeclared good worth Rs 60,000-65,000. She was asked to pay the duty which she did." Meanwhile, Bipasha seemed not to mind the detention. In fact, and refreshingly so, the actor praised Mumbai customs officials for being efficient. Speaking to MiD DAY, she said, "It was just a routine check-up at the airport and many others were being checked as well. I paid Rs 12,000 as taxes against some personal goods. I think the customs team is doing an excellent job."
Here's What the law says
> Carrying goods worth beyond the permissible limit of Rs 25,000 on international flights, without declaring them, is illegal.
> Travellers must pay the customs duty on the said goods as per the law.
> In cases where the amount is more than Rs 2-3 lakh, officials normally book a case under different provisions of the Customs Act.
> If the passengers pay the duty, they are allowed to go.
> If they fail, they are detained and produced in court.
In the past
On May 18, the Mumbai customs intercepted actress Minissha Lamba, who was carrying undeclared diamond jewellery around Rs 32 lakh. She was interrogated for almost 11 hours by the customs, and she said that she was not aware of the law. On May 20, the Mumbai customs intercepted Sajid Sayyed Shaikh a Mira Road based leading builder with gold jewellery and foreign currency in his statement he too stated that he was not aware of the existing laws. Shaikh was detained and was released on bail the next day by a city court next day.
