Question on airport customs

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

=CrAzYG33K=

Inactive
Contributor
OK..

My brother's friend would be bringing a digicam from the States...

Problem is ..

He wouldn't be carrying it in the hand baggage.

Instead, he'd put in in the check-in luggage .. Is it worth the risk ?

I mean, do customs officials at Chennai Airport check the check-in luggage so strictly? Consider that the cam is out of the case.. wrapped around a towel or something. The guy doesn't have any other electronic item apart from his laptop and I'm sure his electronic items' limit wouldn't exceed 25k.

I'll ask him to have a xerox copy of the cam's bill anyway.

Should the check-in luggage be locked ?

Need some insights :ohyeah:
 
They check check-in luggage much more stringently than hand luggage. You can carry upto Rs 25000 worth of stuff for free without paying a penny of duty. Just ask him to keep a copy of the invoice with him.
 
don't think there should be any problem!

handy cam is allowed without custom, well at least that's how i got two of my handy cams(not same time though)
 
greenhorn said:
I think the thread title + content needs to be edited to make is sound more legit.

Illegal is illegal, no matter how you put it
Click to expand...
Nothing illegal here .. greenie.. :death:
I can vouch that the guy wouldn't bring more than 25k of electronic goods (which is the permissible limit).. but you can never believe the customs guy naa? No rules apply to them..
The title WAS intended to be that way! :bleh:
 
Lol.. That way, the title is a bit misleading..

But once you read the body .. it is quite clear ..

Btw, we are going completely OT here ... :)
 
Chennai custom guys don't even bother with the young looking crowd which is small fry in their POV...

He can carry it in his handbag/carrybag/checked in bag with or without a towel ...they wouldnt care :P

unless of course your guy is acting all fidgety
 
Hey, PS3 will cost about Rs. 17k in hongkong for me... Should i have to pay Duties???

I asked one guy who's dad is Custom Duty Officer.. He told, i must have to pay Custom for PS3..

What you say guys...
 
not unless the total stuff ur bringing in is >25k :P ask him that clearly na, that someone will be bringin it ;) he might have thought ur getting it couriered or something :) ask him bout the 25k limit to clarify :)
 
I am not very well versed in what electronic goods are exempt from customs duty but printers always attract customs duty I think. Someone please correct if this is wrong.
 
A somebody on this forum regularly brings in almost 1L worth of stuff everytime he visits Redmond :lol:

No prizes for guessing who though!
 
Just read the rules for yourself here:

BAGGAGE RULES

Leaving the official rules aside, from personal experience....its all depends on your luck. Everything is on the whim and fancy of the custom officer you happen to encounter. At times you could even have stuff more than 25K in your bags and you could just walk through the green channel and no one is going to stop you. God forbid, if you ever get stopped by the custom officer, then even knowing the official rules and carrying all your invoices etc is not going to help. In fact if you try to show you are a smart ass in front of them....you will be digging a hole even deeper for yourself. The rules are so loosely written that its left open for different interpretation.

If you read the column 2 of Annexure A

(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life.

(ii) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I upto a value of Rs. 25,000 if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.

Annex I

1. Firearms.

2. Cartridges of fire arms exceeding 50.

3. Cigarettes exceeding 200 or cigars exceeding 50 or tobacco exceeding 250 gms.

4. Alcoholic liquor or wines in excess of two litres .

5. Gold or silver, in any form, other than ornaments.
Click to expand...

Note that there are two different points here....I personally had interpreted this as two separate things...i.e. personal belongings for everyday use all different and other electronic items that I am carrying are different. However, the custom officer who stopped me interpreted this as one and the same. Even though I had invoices for all the electronic items I was carrying and the total was less than 25K, he started even asking about the watch I was wearing in my hand etc....according to him even that would come under the 25K limit....my understanding however was that would come under personal belongings and not counted under the 25K limit. if you are ever stopped by them then they will find some silly loophole in the rules to grill you. Moral of story....cross your fingers and walk through the green channel...the rest leave it to god. :)

Where you keep you camera (hand baggage v/s checked in baggage) is irrelevant when it comes to customs. If you are scared that what if your checked in luggage gets lost or stolen then that is where you need to ponder on this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom