The Chattogram Custom House (CCH) on Thursday auctioned branded cars along with various items at lower prices after luxury cars and those items failed to attract any higher bidder during the online auction.
During the online auction, a brand new Mercedes Benz (AMG G63) valued at Tk 16.10 crore, attracted a highest bid of Tk 4.1 crore, just one-fourth of its price. Similarly, a Toyota Land Cruiser, worth of Tk 5.17 crore, fetched the highest bid of Tk 2.13 crore.
Along with luxury cars, the auction featured other variety of items, including knitted, woven, non-woven, polyester, dyed, cotton, rayon, and denim fabrics, ladies' shoe soles, ceramic flower pots, craft cartons, PVC sheets, parts of an anti-shoplifting system, disodium sulphate, old blankets, cloths, engine oil, tiles, and security tags, etc.
Four persons and institutions participated in the non-hydride brand new Mercedes Benz auction including Jamuna Ship Breakers, Masum Enterprise, AKM Knitwear ltd.
Meanwhile, four companies and individuals participated in the auction for the non-hybrid brand new Mercedes-Benz, including Jamuna Ship Breakers, Messrs Masum Enterprise, and AKM Knitwear Limited.
In contrast, 14 individuals and organisations participated in the auction for the Land Cruiser, including Enayet Rashid, Md Jahirul Islam, Md Shamim Islam, Nurul Azim, Md Nahid Hasan, Hary Fashion Ltd, SA Trading and Company, Bangla Cars, Hossain and Hasan Trading, Masum Enterprise, Build Best, Maxim Associates, Shah Amanat Trading, and SH Enterprise.
In the auction, juices made from pineapple, apple, mango, guava, and strawberry, worth of Tk 72,47,876, were auctioned. However, the response was not as expected.
The CCH accepted online bids for 45 lots from 9am on September 8 to 5pm on September 18 in the auction and the bidders were given the opportunity to view the auction items on September 11 and 12.
CCH Deputy Commissioner Md Saidul Islam said, “CCH auctions every month as part of its regular duty. These auctions include goods from shipments that are not redeemed by importers but still have usability. Products that have lost their usefulness due to damage or are deemed hazardous are destroyed.”
As per Chattogram Port information, there are 44,288 tonne products in 2,768 20 foot sized containers, 63,400 tonnes products in 3,170 40 foot long containers have been lying in different yards of the port for a long time because the importers did not discharge them.
Additionally, 70,390 packages of LCL cargo weighing 3,390 tonnes and 6,846 packages of open (bulk) goods weighing 5,450 tonnes have been handed over to customs for auction.
Meanwhile, dollar-denominated imports are losing utility due to the slow pace of the auction and destruction of goods. At the same time, shipping agents' containers have been stuck for years. Additionally, due to these containers and cargo, valuable yard space is damaging and it’s affecting the electrical connections of refrigerated containers at the port.
