Bidding price too low to be sold out

The price of 112 luxury cars put up for auction by the customs authorities in the port city fell far short of the reserve price.

The reserve value of the vehicles was Tk 180 crore, but the bid was less than half the price.

As none of the proposed bids were received, the authorities are looking to the decision from the National Board of Revenue.

The 112 vehicles were auctioned for the fifth time on November 3 and 4.

A total of 551 bids were submitted by various individuals and organisations for the purchase of 110 vehicles.

Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Customs House Al-Amin said the sale of well-known brands would be approved by a committee after reviewing the auction prices.

“As there is a huge difference between the tender price and the proposed price for cars, the auction approval committee will refer the issue to the NBR. If the revenue authority does not approve sale, we will put them up for further auction,” added the official.

The highest bidder in the recent auction was found for a BMW car for which Tk 53 lakh was bid, however, the customs authorities assumed its reserve price over Tk 2 crore.

No bidder was found for the key and rubber channel of the 2993cc silver car. Its wheel and battery are also unsuitable for use.

The cars were all brought to the country almost a decade ago under the Carnet-de-Passage facility, but the owners could not release these vehicles from the port following proper procedures.

The Carnet de Passage system allows travelers/ tourists to move through countries driving their own vehicles. Such vehicles are allowed to enter the traveling country on temporary importation facilities without payment of any duty and taxes.

The auctioned car brands include Land Rover, Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar, and Mitsubishi Jeep. The vehicles are lying in the open condition in the port and car sheds.

Most of them were brought by the British tourists of Bangladeshi descent through Chattogram port a decade ago to facilitate tourism.

After being brought through the port, all the vehicles got stuck in there as the authorities imposed strictures against the misuse of Carnet-de-Passage -- almost a duty-free facility.

Of the list of bidders in the auctions held online and physically at five designated places across the country, KPL Construction and Developers Limited showed up as the highest bidder for 18 vehicles followed by Farzana Trading, which bid the highest for 11 and Shahadat Hossain for 11 vehicles.

But even though they are the highest bidders, their proposed price is much lower than the reserve price.

Although the interest of buyers and organisations towards these old cars bought for tourism has increased over the previous auctions, the price of any car in the tender is not equal to the price offered.

According to the customs sources, although customers’ response was better for the fifth time than earlier, the NBR’s special approval would be required to allocate the highest bidder as per the rules.