Our good ol post office is something really stupid,
my bro sent me a small packet from UK, it contained a small car accessory and a few DVDs with his own vids and some downloaded british comedies. Having a total value of 14 pounds sterling,
Pakistan customs in the foreign post department have levied a duty of Rs 3,000/- on it - strange innit, claiming that the price on the packed is counterfiet and this thing has an actual value of Rs 8,000/-
Something interesting to know is that our customs does not know the difference between a commercial DVD and a DVDR, Upon inspection they have also damaged the discs data surfaces - claiming it was found that way, After a short conversation with the officials in which the entire adult vocubulary was used, they said that - the price was on the mood of the customs appraiser. He can affix whatever he likes.
Firstly they damage the goods, then claim CD worth more than the goods and put up a fight on it, claiming I am lying, These SOBs need to be reminded that it is us who pays taxes so they get paid.
Only in Pakistan can this happen, I would lovingly be non-patriotic and get all items via courier.
Please be warned before you send something to your relatives/freinds in pakistan.
technically speaking a duty should not be levied on it, the total value on it is 14 pounds, meaning about 1700 rs, the rishwat hes asking is about 2000 - what the hell kind of commerce is this?
it is sad but this is how it works :) but i never had any problem like this i always use recorded/registered delivery and things get their on time i sent alot of different stuff to my friends and family in pak and never had any problem :)
I've had problems with post/parcels being sent to and from pak too, most of the time items were removed from the parcel. The only solution is to use Fed Ex or DHL but even they have been playing up recently.
By Law anything that crosses the border - customs has the right to check the content. May it be through ordinary post, DHL / Fedex etc. I'd recommend using courier becuase they are responsible for the contents & they have clear guidlines & they do tell the customers in case of any doubt.
Last year when I wanted to send my bank card to my wife in Europe while I was in Pakistan, DHL told me its not legal but I had done it in past (sending from Canada / USA to Europe etc).
You may have to pay 5 times more but believe me if DHL / Fedex is not telling u about any duties 95% chances are they will kick customs officers rear end good enough that he/she wont shout about anything if legally there is not duty (Couriers keep their lists update about duty able stuff well, they will inform u if there is anything dutyable in ur stuff u are sending). Dont use normal mailservice for sending anything to Pakistan but normal letters, because openning anything & even stealing contents is not a big deal for pakistani officials.
Pakistani Government Official motto when joining the service:
Ham zinda qaum hain, sharminda qaum hain - ham sab ka hay iman - keh ham nay hona hay be-iman.
yeah fedex and ups are more reliable.local post office people are dis organised,dishonest, ghareeb with not many connections with customs.with muti national companies they are forced to behave better but even then u could have problems as i ve experienced ordering supplements through fedex.customs never provide full details of their charges and they never take calls from people to answer questions.govt officers in pakistan anywhere in any department are an absolute nightmare to deal with,they are loud,arrogant and stupid.the best way to deal with them is to either bribe them or use connections.
Yep the Pakistani postal service cannot be trusted. My sisters friend once sent her pictures of her kids from Quetta to Islamabad and put a note on the envelope saying 'please do not bend'. We received the envelope folded in half.
............. Please be warned before you send something to your relatives/freinds in pakistan./quote]
Absolutely,
I have had similar experiences,
Whilst in Pak, for a while, many of the letters & packages sent out to us were tampered with, and I am not talking about the occasional wear and tear, some one was brazenly being nosey, and once even had a pair of (inexpensive) earings which never reached us.
When we made a complaint at the local P.O. soon after, all this stopped.
No wonder we live in ignorance - they think of DVDs as something "highly classified" upon which I said yeah take a stroll to Uni Plaza - theyre 15 Rs a piece - while I was there, another person was arguing with the same appraiser.
This fellow had moved back from USA a few months back, and had his clothings sent via post. This same half witted appraiser put up a customs duty on it somewhere equalling 20,000 Rs - claiming that the clothings were "branded" (aka mehenga kapra) and could not be just let go without duty.
His fight was in Punjabi (far more colorful than mine)
