Here's the truth behind Shah Rukh Khan and his team being 'detained' at the Mumbai airport upon their arrival from Sharjah

On Saturday afternoon, media outlets flew into a frenzy over reports that Shah Rukh Khan and his team had been halted at the Mumbai airport due to a duty-related incident. According to rumours, SRK was fined Rs 6.83 lakhs for purchasing expensive watches worth Rs 18 lakhs.

When asked by the ETimes, a senior customs officer said that this event was being made into a big deal. The officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said that for the products they were transporting, Shah Rukh Khan and his team were required to pay duty. Contrary to what the media is reporting, there was no penalty or interception. Everything being said about this case on social media is inaccurate in terms of the facts.

From the private terminal in Kalina, also known as the GA (General Aviation) terminal, Shah Rukh Khan, his manager Pooja Dadlani, and their team were flying. Then there is the international terminal, designated T2, which hosts a large number of daily flights.

The officer also said that passengers from GA Terminal are taken to T2 if they need to pay taxes or duties, because that's where the staff and resources are for those kinds of situations. Since there are only 10–12 passengers that depart from the GA terminal, it makes little sense to extend these facilities there.

The customs expert gave a very detailed account of what happened. He said that SRK and his team arrived at the GA terminal around 12:30 p.m. The T2 has different colour-coded channels for different types of passengers and their duty-related screenings. The GA terminal, on the other hand, doesn't have any clear categories. The team as a whole was carrying 6–7 suitcases that were examined by security. They had one Apple watch, numerous watch winders (specialised cases used for expensive watches), and no receipts for these items because they claimed they were gifts. The total value of these items, according to their online research, is Rs 17.86 lakhs.

Reports said that SRK was carrying expensive watches, but what he was actually carrying was watch winder cases. The officer went on to say that then a customs officer and Ravi Singh, a member of SRK's security detail (Ravi is Shah Rukh Khan's dependable bodyguard), were taken to Terminal 2 with a bag containing the items for duty payment. There, Ravi paid the customs duty of Rs. 6.88 lakh (estimated at 38.5 percent).

The way this event was talked about in the news, the officer said, gave the impression that a big operation had been done, but that was not the case.

He stated that because this process took place on T2, where there are many people, it shouldn't have been classified as an interception. In order to prevent similar problems in the future, airport and customs authorities are actually considering setting up duty services and staff at the GA terminal as well.