I voluntarily declared all items, says Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya

Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya Tuesday took to Twitter to clarify his position on his watches getting confiscated by Indian custom authorities.

In a lengthy note that he shared on social media platforms, Pandya said he was a law-abiding citizen who had voluntarily declared all items and valuables that were with him.

Early on Monday morning, 15th November, on my arrival from Dubai, after picking up my luggage, I voluntarily went to Mumbai airport customs counter to declare the items brought by me and pay the requisite customs duty,” he wrote.

“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. 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 proper valuation for duty which I’ve already confirmed to pay.”

He clarified that the cost of the watch was Rs1.5 crore and not Rs5 crore as per some reports doing the rounds 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,” he added.