To get toys to Kolkata isn’t child’s play

Kolkata's orphaned, destitute children have probably never seen anything like this: a giant gift consignment that costs $75,000 and includes...

Kolkata’s orphaned, destitute children have probably never seen anything like this: a giant gift consignment that costs $75,000 and includes toys, plastic playing buckets, drawing boards, toys of cartoon characters, diaries, lunch boxes. Kolkata’s orphaned, destitute children will probably never see this giant gift consigment for themselves: sent by an American with a big wallet and a bigger heart to the Sabera Foundation, it was sent right back last week because Customs officials asked the NGO to pay an import duty of 56%—or Rs 20 lakh.

‘‘The Sabera Foundation was no position to shell out this kind of money. Nor did we want to put pressure on the man who made such a huge donation,’’ Patrick Ghosh, the NGO’s director of communication, told The Indian Express. So the toys—so many in number that it took eight 40-feet containers to contain them—were sent back to Hong Kong, where they were shipped in from.

Sabera, the NGO that was set up in Kolkata by Spanish musician Ignacio Cano and that counts beautiful people like Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith among its supporters, runs a home that houses 137 orphans as well as the children of prostitutes. In fact, the Martin connection made the gift happen—donor Stephen Berman is an American fan of the Puerto Rican hip-wiggling pop sensation.

A Sabera representative said even after distributing the toys among the 137 children, there would be enough left to share with other NGOs like the Ramakrishna Mission, Missionaries of Charity and government-run homes in Liluah. The NGO now plans to take its appeal that the consignment be exempted from duty to New Delhi, to the Finance ministry. ‘‘We are trying to negotiate with the Customs,’’ said Patrick Ghosh. ‘‘But the final decision lies with the Finance ministry. Our only worry is that such a beautiful gift for the children of Kolkata should not go abegging.’’

According to Carlos Duran, a Spanish volunteer with the NGO, Customs officials complained about the consignment’s size. A senior Customs official reportedly told Sabera that only the Missionaries of Charity had special exemptions on certain items, and that Sabera could explore the possibility of distributing the gifts jointly with the charity.

Vijay Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Calcutta Customs, said, ‘‘Sabera officials visited the Customs office to estimate the duty they have to pay. We estimated the duty at 20 lakh, and as per the rules, the consignment will be subjected to import duty unless there is a specific exemption notification by the Finance minister.’’ The earlier practice of granting ad hoc duty exemptions has been discontinued because of misuse, he added.