THE national government’s auction on Monday of five luxury vehicles to the public has failed, no bids were received by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
In a livestreamed public auction, the interagency auction committee was forced to declare a failure of bids for each of the five vehicles due to the absence of bids and bidders.
The vehicles were seized by the government for violation of Section 1400 (misdeclaration) of Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
“Pursuant to Customs Administrative Order 03-2020, specifically Section 5.15, a failed bidding may be declared. An auction may be declared as failed by the auction committee when any of the following circumstances occurred: [1] if there is no bid and [2] if the highest bidder fails to comply with any of the payments required,” the auction committee stated during the livestream.
If the auction was successful, the government could have raised a minimum of P29.087 million. The most expensive lot was Lot 3 or the 2008 Ferrari Scuderia 430 with a floor price of P23.225 million.
This was followed by Lot 1 or the 2001 Porsche Boxster with a floor price of P1.798 million; Lot 5 or the 2011 Mercedes E220, P1.492 million; Lot 4 or the 2001 Mercedes SLK55, P1.324 million; and Lot 2 or the 2001 Mercedes SLK350 worth P1.248 million.
After declaring the bidding as failed for each of the cars, the auction committee said they will prepare for the second bidding of the same vehicles which will commence five days after the committee has made a new announcement.
The Inter-Agency Auction Committee is composed of representatives from the BOC, the BTr and the Land Bank of the Philippines. This was created through a Memorandum of Agreement among the agencies signed in December 2021.
The BOC earlier said this will help ensure transparency of the process and promote competition through broad dissemination of auction information.
Through the added network of the BTr and Landbank, the notice of auction and other key information on the vehicles will be made available to the wider public, thus enhancing the competitive nature of the process.
