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You might have travelled the world but you can’t escape the claws of immigration duty officers. Miss Universe 2017, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters had to pay a heavy duty for her heavy crown when the immigration officers demanded Rs 4 lakhs for her crown.
Peters who landed in Mumbai on Thursday at 7 pm was carrying a replica of her Japanese crown. The South African winner was here to judge a beauty contest in NSCI, Worli. But it was only past midnight, at 1 am on Friday when Peters was let off with Rs 4 lakh as a duty.
Peters was awarded the Miss Universe title with a Mikimoto tiara which costs around Rs 1.77 crore. However, she brought a replica of the diadem instead. Immigration officers stopped her and asked her to wait. They later enquired about the value of the replica and arrived at an estimate of Rs 11 lakh.
Officers then asked the former winner to pay 40 per cent customs duty on the crown. There was a lot of confusion on whether duty ought to be levied on the crown or not. Finally, the officers found out that beauty crowns were not exempted from the policy.
The South African’s queen team informed that the organisers had already informed the customs about the crown and had completed all the formalities. Her publicist told Mid Day, "Her flight was delayed, and by the time it landed, a new shift had begun at the customs. The officers in the earlier shift, who had been informed of her arrival and the needed clearance, had not done a proper handover of the paperwork. So she had to wait until it was done again."
Mikimoto crown, worth $250,000 (approximately 1.7 crore) is not given to every Miss Universe. Made in Japan, the crown is said to be the most beautiful in the world. The tiara depicts the rising phoenix that signifies status, power, and beauty.
https://www.google.fr/amp/s/amp.indiati ... 52265.html
As a Miss Universe, safety/security is always a Must.
Well, this reminded me of Ximena’s experience back in 2010.
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What are your thoughts?