Vijay Mallya’s sword – again in news

By Vijay Kumar

Last time around when Vijay Mallya bought and brought Tipu Sultan’s sword to India, there was some controversy. He did not smuggle it into India. He brought it with all his typical fanfare and right through Customs. The Bangalore Customs thought, as the sword was of Indian origin, no duty was payable. Later they realized that not only was duty payable, but import without a licence was not valid. Customs top brass had ordered an inquiry. What happened to the sword? Mallya has recently sent the sword to San Francisco's Asian Art Museum for display. Now the new controversy is “how was the export allowed?”, in contravention of the Customs Act, Foreign Trade Policy, The Arms Act and The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act.