Customs to Target Illegal Personal Shoppers

The Customs and Excise Directorate General of Finance Ministry will tighten the control of passenger’s baggage coming from foreign countries to track illegal personal shoppers. The growing trend of personal shopper service allegedly reduces the state’s income from import duty and value-added taxes on imported goods.

The directorate will use traditional inspections, carried out by customs officers, such as intercepting imported goods traffic in airports, ports, and even in border outposts to prevent them from illegally entering the country. They will check the content of the bags and baggage and ask for any receipt or proof of purchase of the possessions in them. Any load worth over than US$ 500 will have to pay import duty. Besides, the officers will keep an eye on Instagram and Twitter commonly used as transaction platforms for personal shoppers.