The Bureau of the Customs (BOC) will soon be auctioning off to the public five luxury vehicles it seized in May and June this year. The proceeds will be used to finance the country’s ongoing pandemic response.
The public auction, which will be livestreamed on the social media pages of the BOC, Department of Finance (DOF), and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
“The inaugural Inter-Agency auction will be held at the BTr on 13 December 2021. Five (5) luxury vehicles will be put on the auction block on an “as is where is” basis,” the BOC said in a statement.
“For the first time, the entire auction process will be livestreamed through the official Facebook pages of the three agencies,” it added.
The vehicles to be auctioned are a 2008 Ferrari Scuderia 430; a 2001 Porsche Boxster; a 2001 Mercedes Benz SLK350; a 2001 Mercedes Benz SLK55; and a 2011 Mercedes Benz E220.
Interested bidders can register with the BOC until December 9, 2021. Inspection dates are set on December 9-10, 2021 at PUC Grounds, Gate 3, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila.
To ensure transparency of the process and to promote competition through broad dissemination of auction information, an Inter-Agency Auction Committee composed of representatives from the BOC, the BTr and the Land Bank of the Philippines was formed through a Memorandum of Agreement among the agencies signed on Wednesday.
“(Our) partnership with reputable government agencies and the shift to an open process send a strong signal to the public that this Administration is very serious in addressing collusion in the disposal of smuggled goods,” the BOC said.
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.
In June, PortCalls reported that the BOC seized P20 million worth of luxury vehicles, including three of the vehicles being auctioned.
The three vehicles, the 2008 Ferrari Scuderia 430; Mercedes Benz SLK 55; and Mercedes Benz E220 were concealed in 33 bales of used clothing.
In May, PortCalls reported, four sports cars were also concealed un bales of ukay-ukay or used clothing.
A warrant of seizure, PortCalls said, was issued for violation of Section 1400 (misdeclaration) of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.###