72 Experience in the Airport or return

After the  short assignment  in Singapore,  we were  returning to Kerala via Thiruvananthapuram. The  SilkAir Airlines  had started  flights to   TVM thrice  in a week. Even though we have travelled by flight  several times, whenever we return to India, there is always some amount of mental stress mainly due to the  obstacle  called customs. I had heard about the bitter experience of  several friends, but  we can feel it only when we ourselves are face to face with it .

When we return from abroad, it is  usual to bring some gift items to our friends and relatives. Each item may cost only  little, but those who love us will accept it happily without even asking how much it costs. My  better half also had bought a few things  as per  her  list. When you are  in a  foreign land, it is usual that we  buy things which are   not available in our country, just curios  worth  a few  bucks  not  much. My  wife   had  picked  up a few things  but when  we  packed it  up it all together it was almost 120 kg The  permitted  weight  for two passengers  in flight was only  70kg. As  per excess  baggage rates, sometimes, 1 kg  of material worth  Rs.100/ may  be charged  Rs.300/ or more.  Fortunately, Siva  was  with  me, he said  the excess  baggage  can be sent by  ship which may reach us a  bit late through ship. The  cost  per kg for baggage  through  ship will be  nominal even though  it may take one or two months  to reach us. So, we left the  bag containing  mainly my books  with him and thus escaped paying excess  baggage  charges equivalent to whatever savings  we made  out  of my working  for six months  in Singapore.   

Now,  the  next will be the hurdle at  TVM airport  customs. I had gone through the  website  of the air customs and found that there  is no clarity on many things. It was like the  old teacher  with poor  diction telling “ It  can be said  like  this and also like  what you are telling”. Please  remember, this was the  story about twenty years back. For example, there  is a clause  that a  person can carry his  work tools free of cost,  subject  to the  weight  limits. A carpenter can carry his chisels and hammers and a mason his pallet, scales and other essentials.  For an engineer  then  and now, the  working tool can be a laptop. But at that time, computer or laptop used  to invite  heavy customs duty.  I  had purchased a few computer accessories  for  my son like a low-cost printer, two or three  packs  of blank CDs and an audio system by Philips . Including  the  cost of these  together with  the purchase  by my wife will not be more than Rs.20,000/ and as per rules,  items  whose  cost  was less than 20,000/   will not invite any customs duty.  But my experience  in TVM airport  was  different.

As I was  moving  with my  baggage  through the green channel,   one of the  customs officials called  me aside and started  questioning me. With  the trolley  carrying the baggage kept  near me, he started  asking me what are  the items  in the  baggage. I said I have a  few computer accessories like a  printer  and a few CDs. Then he asked, how  much gold. I said  whatever  my wife  is wearing , total  not more than say 30  or 40gm. He was  not satisfied. Then he asked  how  many Singapore dollars I have. I told him I have converted whatever  dollars I had to  Indian rupees at Mustafa Super market. It was obvious from his  talk that he wanted ‘something’ from me. When  he found that  in spite  of the  harassment, I am not  going to pay him anything, he  said.   “Dear  Sir, you are a teacher  in REC. My son is  now studying  in Pre-degree and he is planning to apply for admission to REC  Calicut. Hope you will  help him when  he comes  there”. I wished  him best and said I  will be  very glad to welcome  him  to  our institution.  With these  words I came out of the airport unhurt.

In this connection, I would  like to share an incident  one of my friends shared with me. My friend had  asked his  sister who had just graduated  to come over to Singapore  to try for some jobs.  She applied for many  firms  but nothing clicked as she did not have any experience  or knowledge  of computer usage. When the  visa  period was  exhausted, he  gave his old laptop  to her and asked her to return home.  He said, if you can learn something  on computers sitting at home, then we can try again after some time. When she landed in TVM, the  customs  people  saw the laptop and asked her  to remit Rs.30,000/ as duty. Poor girl had  hardly Rs.500/ with her   for her  bus fare home and she left the item with the customs and went home crying. When  her brother called in the evening she narrated her story. Then he said “ Don’t worry, let them take it. This was an old laptop  which I  bought from my  company for 10 dollars  and is hardly worth Rs.300/, let them take it” . As  per their  policy,  the company used to provide all employees with  new laptop computers every three years and selling  their old computers to their employees  for a few  dollars was their policy of disposing off the e-waste. The  unkind  customs  official  did not allow  her to try to earn her  livelihood  using  this  old laptop. If  the poor girl was ready to  bribe them a few  thousands  of rupees, they could have  gladly allowed  her  to take  that laptop home. ( Of  course, of late, laptop  computers are allowed as free  cabin baggage along with the  cabin trolley.