Stopped at Mumbai airport, Shah Rukh Khan coughs up Rs 7 lakh duty on luxury watches

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan had to pay Rs 6.83 lakh for carrying expensive watches at the Mumbai international airport on Friday. The actor was accompanied by five members of his team who on returned from Dubai in a private jet. The superstar and his team, including bodyguard Ravi Singh, were stopped at Terminal Three of Mumbai international airport by Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) in the early hours of Friday.

As the General Aviation Terminal’s customs duty payment counter was not operational, customs officers took the actor’s bodyguard to Terminal 2 of the airport, where he paid the amount on behalf of the superstar, the official said.

Earlier, Khan and the other members of his entourage were stopped at the General Aviation Terminal for an hour while the baggage screening was in process, said an official.

Sources said AIU officials found in the actor’s luggage an Apple iWatch worth around Rs 75,000 and six other empty cases of high-end watches. The luxury items were valued around Rs 18 lakh. The actor was asked to pay Rs 6.83 lakh as customs duty. As per AIU officials, they charged duty at 38.5% of the value of the goods.

As per officials, the actor was travelling in a private chartered plane. The Mumbai airport’s private terminal does not have ‘red’ or ‘green’ channel. So, there is no option for declaring dutiable goods. “It is difficult to ascertain if the actor or his team had any intention of evading duty, hence no penalty was imposed by the customs department,” said sources.

The actor and his manager Pooja Dadlani were allowed to leave the airport after formal questioning on Friday morning. However, Khan’s bodyguard was told to stay back to complete the formalities.