Hardik Pandya: Earlier this morning, news agency ANI reported that Mumbai Customs Department has seized two wristwatches of cricketer Hardik Pandya at the Airport. It was reported that the cost of the watches is around Rs. 5 crores. The report stated that Hardik did not have the bill receipts of the watches.
Hardik Pandya
“Customs Department seized two wrist watches worth Rs 5 crores of cricketer Hardik Pandya, on Sunday night (November 14) when he was returning from Dubai. The cricketer allegedly did not have the bill receipt of the watches: Mumbai Customs Department,” tweeted ANI this morning.
When the news broke out all over the internet, Hardik Pandya gave a clarification saying that only one watch, worth Rs. 1.5 crore, was taken by the customs department for proper valuation.
Hardik shared his statement on Twitter a couple of hours ago. “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 wrote.
“I had voluntarily declared all the items that I’d lawfully purchased from Dubai and was ready to pay whatever duties that needed to be paid. As a matter of fact, the customs department had asked for all purchase documents which were submitted; however customs is doing the proper valuation for duty which I’ve already confirmed to pay,” the statement further added.
Hardik also clarified the price rumours by saying, “The cost of the watch is approximately ₹ 1.5 crore and not ₹ 5 crore as per the rumours floating around on social media. I’m a law-abiding citizen of the country and I respect all government agencies. I’ve received all the cooperation from the Mumbai customs department and I’ve assured my full cooperation to them and will provide them with whatever legitimate documents they need to get this matter cleared. All allegations against me of crossing any legal boundaries are totally unfounded.”
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Customs department is yet to respond to Hardik’s statement.