Should Rahman pay Customs duty on his Oscars?
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 24 February 2009, 22:55 IST
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Should Rahman pay Customs duty on his Oscars?
New Delhi: As the Oscar winning music maestro A.R. Rahman returns to India with his statuettes, experts are wondering whether he will be required to pay Customs duty on his two gold-plated statuettes worth about $1,000. As per the Customs baggage rules, passengers above 10 years of age, who return after a stay abroad of more than three days, will get duty-free clearance for articles up to Rs 25,000. This, however, does not cover gold or silver, in any form other than ornaments. The Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram, had suggested tax exemption on cash awards that may come with the Oscars bagged by Rahman. "If the Oscars carry a cash award, I would recommend to the Finance Minister that it should be exempt from taxation," Chidambaram had said. In 2002, Sachin Tendulkar, after he scored 29 centuries to equal Sir Donald Bradman's record, was gifted a Ferrari by its makers. The then finance minister said the government was waiving the Customs duty of Rs 1.13 crore on it. As the rules did not allow waivers on gifts, a public interest litigation had followed. However, Ferrari paid the duty at last.

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