Only taxpayers with Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
issued Tax Identification
Number (TIN) will be eligible to
participate in the new auction of
seized items by Nigeria Customs
Service (NCS) which will soon
open online. This is part of the
guidelines contained in a new e-
auction portal to be deployed for
disposing of seizures that have
undergone the process of court
condemnation.
The portal, www.trade. gov.ng
requires applicants to input
recent passport photo with a
payment of non refundable N1,
000 administrative fees. The
new e- auction portal for the
sales of seized items at Customs
Commands across Nigeria is
expected to reduce congestion
in the various government
warehouses and increase
revenue from the sales.
Comptroller General of Customs,
Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd),
introduced the process as a way
of enhancing transparency,
reduce human contacts and
ensure that only the highest
bidders for any auctioned item
takes it.
Aside TIN by prospective
bidders, other terms and
conditions include exclusion of
customs officers and their
families from participating in the
bidding process either directly of
by proxy.
The guidelines also indicate that
auctioned items cannot be
replaced or funds paid refunded
to bidders Successful bidders are
expected to make payments
within five working days or
forfeit the item to the second
highest bidder.
Successful bidders will be given
a period 14 days from the date
of payment to remove the item
they paid for or forfeit it at the
expiration of the period. Any
auctioned item not removed
from the warehouse within 14
days from the date of payment
shall revert to its pre-bidding
status which makes such item
open for auction again.
Winners in the auction process
are also expected to pay 25 per
cent of the auction amount to
the Terminal Operator with
another 25 per cent of the
auction amount to the shipping
line Operator
Meanwhile, owners of seized
item are excluded from bidding
for such items but may however
participate in the bidding of
other items while owners of
overtime items with evidence of
payment of duty and other
charges have priority over a
successful bidder of the item
provided the item has not been
exited out of the customs
control.
Interested persons will be
expected to access what is put
up for sale through NCS trade
portal. Aside being transparent,
the new method will also
increase the amount of revenue
government makes from
auctions as bidding will be
competitive and devoid of bias
or favouritism.
Hitherto, the service had done
auctions through issuance of
documents to beneficiaries with
which such beneficiaries
approached the warehouses
before making payments to
designated banks. This method
was viewed as not being
transparent as beneficiaries of
the auctions were believed to
have been selected through a
non competitive process.
This new auction policy is
coming 19 months after
customs auctions were
suspended following the
voluntary retirement of the
former Controller General of
Customs, Dikko Inde Abdullahi.
There have been media reports
that seized goods amounting to
billions of naira that have been
condemned through court
processes are lying in the
warehouses. Confirming the
development, the National Public
Relations Officer, NCS, Joseph
Attah said the Comptroller
General took time to entrench
the new method that requires
deploying of ICT, avoiding
human contact and influences.
Attah added that the new system
is undergoing a test run for
applicant acceptability before it
will be open to the public for
access and transactions.
Billions of naira is expected to be
generated from the sales which
includes cars, trucks, tankers,
leather and other items seized
from smugglers who ostensibly
wanted to evade duty payment.
President Muhammadu Buhari
had approved the distribution of
perishable items like rice, soap,
clothes, vegetable oil etc to
internally displaced persons (IDP)

source https://newtelegraphonline.com/news/customs-commence-auction-seizures-online/

Cc:lalasticlala and mynd44

"Comptroller General of Customs,
Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd),
introduced the process as a way
of enhancing transparency,
reduce human contacts and
ensure that only the highest
bidders for any auctioned item
takes it." - Another lie again

Na still them go buy am sell give people at higher rates. Bid ke, bid ni...