Officials of the Mumbai Customs Department have seized two wrist watches of cricketer Hardik Pandya when he was returning from Dubai on Monday morning.
According to the department, Pandya allegedly did not have the bill receipt of the luxury watches.
Earlier it was reported that the cost of the watch was Rs 5 crores, however, Pandya himself has denied the claim and said the cost of the watch is approximately Rs 1.5 crore.
The incident took place when Team India players landed at the Mumbai International Airport from UAE after facing defeat at the ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021.
Taking to Twitter, Pandya clarified that he “voluntarily declared” all the items at Mumbai airport and was ready to pay whatever duties that need to be paid. I voluntarily went to Mumbai airport customs counter to declare the items brought by me and pay the requisite customs duty.
Wrong perceptions have been floating around on social media regarding my declaration to customs at Mumbai airport, and I would like to clarify about what transpired,” he said in a statement.
As a matter of fact, the customs department had asked for all purchase documents which were submitted; however, the customs is doing proper valuation for duty which I’ve already confirmed to pay.
The cost of the watch is approximately Rs 1.5 crore and not Rs 5 crores as per rumours floating around in social media,” he added.
Last year, his brother and cricketer Krunal Panday was detained at the T2 International Airport in Mumbai by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly being in possession of undisclosed high-end watches and gold worth close to Rs 1 crore.
Arriving at Mumbai airport, customs officials found Hardik in possession of two luxury watches and proceeded to detain the same.
Hardik Pandya’s watches seized
According to the Mumbai Customs Department, the cricketer allegedly did not have the bill receipt of the watches. The two watches worth Rs 5 crore were detained. Notably, the India National Cricket Team crashed out from the group stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
Pandya had a forgetful tournament after performing terribly in the first two games. Notably, Hardik owns a big collection of expensive watches. His collection also holds the Patek Philippe Nautilus Platinum 5711 – which costs over Rs 5 crore.
Interestingly, Krunal Pandya, elder brother of Hardik was detained at Mumbai Airport while returning from Dubai. He was held over suspicion of possession of undisclosed gold. He had carried Gold worth INR 1 crore along with few undisclosed luxury watches.
Arriving at Mumbai airport, customs officials found Hardik in possession of two luxury watches and proceeded to detain the same. The Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder hadn’t declared the watches as customs items leading to trouble.
According to the Mumbai Customs Department, the cricketer allegedly did not have the bill receipt of the watches. The two watches worth Rs 5 crore were detained.
Notably, the India National Cricket Team crashed out from the group stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. Pandya had a forgetful tournament after performing terribly in the first two games.
Notably, Hardik owns a big collection of expensive watches. His collection also holds the Patek Philippe Nautilus Platinum 5711 – which costs over Rs 5 crore.