A gold bar, covered in tape, recovered on the aircraft from Dubai. Photo: Delhi Customs
A gold bar, covered in tape, recovered on the aircraft from Dubai. Photo: Delhi Customs
A gold bar, covered in tape, recovered on the aircraft from Dubai. Photo: Delhi Customs
A gold bar, covered in tape, recovered on the aircraft from Dubai. Photo: Delhi Customs

UAE

Gold bars found hidden in plane toilet on Dubai to India flight

Footage shows customs officers in Delhi finding stash after a tip-off

Nick Webster
Nick Webster

March 07, 2023

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Gold bars wrapped in tape and hidden under the wash basin of an aircraft toilet have been recovered on a flight from Dubai to India.

Customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi acted on a tip-off to check the washrooms of the plane on arrival on Sunday.

A video showed customs officers searching the cavity of a wash basin in a toilet and recovering four gold bars. The airline was not named by Indian authorities.

Gold is the number one traded commodity in Dubai, with airline passengers regularly found trying to take it into India without paying the customs fees for valuable imports.

While there is no limit on the amount of gold that can be exported from the UAE tax free, India applies a levy of 10.75 per cent of the value taken into the country.

On March 3, officers from the Ludhiana Customs Commissionerate officers working at the Chandigarh International Airport seized 18 bars of pure gold, each weighing 1kg, worth an estimated $2.5 million.

The bars marked as “Etihad Gold Dubai UAE” were packed into the hand luggage of a passenger on board an IndiGo flight from Dubai.

A 30-year-old was identified at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport by the Advance Passenger Information System, an electronic data interchange established by the US Customs and Border Protection to enhance airline security.

Authorities conducted several raids as a result of the seizure across India, including Khanna in Punjab.

Gold smuggling in India - in pictures

  • This passenger who travelled on a Dubai to Delhi flight was found to have smuggled melted gold taped to his bald head. He wore a wig to conceal it. Photo: Delhi Customs
    This passenger who travelled on a Dubai to Delhi flight was found to have smuggled melted gold taped to his bald head. He wore a wig to conceal it. Photo: Delhi Customs
  • Customs officers at Delhi airport on April 17 seized 15 gold bars concealed in the socks of a passenger who disembarked a flight from Dubai. The bars weighed 1,747 grams and would be worth more than $100,000, meaning the passenger was avoiding paying thousands of dollars in import tax. Photo: Delhi Customs
    Customs officers at Delhi airport on April 17 seized 15 gold bars concealed in the socks of a passenger who disembarked a flight from Dubai. The bars weighed 1,747 grams and would be worth more than $100,000, meaning the passenger was avoiding paying thousands of dollars in import tax. Photo: Delhi Customs
  • Delhi Customs said a passenger who came off a flight from Dubai was found to have melted down this 443 gram bar of gold into a paste and wrapped it around his legs. Photo: Delhi Customs
    Delhi Customs said a passenger who came off a flight from Dubai was found to have melted down this 443 gram bar of gold into a paste and wrapped it around his legs. Photo: Delhi Customs
  • A huge gold chain was confiscated from a passenger who was wearing more than the permitted gold allowance. He was further found to have tried to smuggle several bars through Delhi airport to avoid paying thousands of dollars in import duty. Photo: Delhi Customs
    A huge gold chain was confiscated from a passenger who was wearing more than the permitted gold allowance. He was further found to have tried to smuggle several bars through Delhi airport to avoid paying thousands of dollars in import duty. Photo: Delhi Customs
  • A customs officer tears open a hidden compartment of a suitcase to find a large amount of undeclared currency in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams. The passenger, who landed in Delhi on a flight from Dubai, was detained. Photo: Delhi Customs
    A customs officer tears open a hidden compartment of a suitcase to find a large amount of undeclared currency in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams. The passenger, who landed in Delhi on a flight from Dubai, was detained. Photo: Delhi Customs
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4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

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Updated: March 07, 2023, 9:19 AM
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