A woman from Kollam created commotion at Thiruvananthapuram Airport by declining to pay customs duty on 120g of gold, saying it was her personal property. A woman who came on an early morning flight from Dubai brought about chaos at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Sunday morning after physically reacting to a demand for customs duty on gold ornaments she had with her.
The middle-aged woman, said to be from Kollam, came on an Emirates flight and shocked Customs officials when she responded with aggression to a request that she pay 36% duty on about 15 sovereigns of gold jewellery, or about 120 grams. The altercation took off quickly with witnesses claiming that she started throwing her luggage and gold ornaments at officers manning the Sankhumugham-side customs counter.
From inside sources at the customs agency, the woman told the officials that the jewelry belonged to her, which she had worn when abroad visiting her relatives. She protested that as she had removed the ornaments from home and had used them for her trip, she should not be taxed when returning. But customs officials clarified that without proper documents showing the jewellery was removed from India before she traveled, they had no choice but to charge the regular import duty.
The officials added that since the woman did not remain abroad for over six months – one of the main conditions for exemptions on duty – she was bound to pay over Rs 2 lakh in customs duty.
The woman allegedly took off the jewellery and hurled it in the direction of the customs officials before rushing out of the airport terminal to collect her checked bag. Customs department acted quickly upon the disturbance by alerting the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), who kept a close eye on the situation.
