The Customs is vested with the right to sell by public auction the goods and vehicles which are lying unclaimed in the port /storage premises upon expiry of the permitted storage period. The permitted storage period from the day of discharge at the port shall be as follows.
- FCL normal cargo Three calendar months
- FCL refrigerated cargo One month.
- LCL cargo Six months.
After the periods stated above, the containers shall be un-stuffed and the goods removed for sale by Public Auctions. The goods are sold in public by open bidding at the designated area and the general public as well as companies can participate in the auction after obtaining necessary port pass issued by the Port Authority. Customs allows the general public to view the goods and vehicles in advance and also announces the auction date in the print and broadcasting media. The list of the goods and vehicles to be sold by the department is also available in different Customs Centres Since the sale of goods and vehicles are on an "as-is-where-is" basis, Customs is not giving any guarantee on the condition, quality or quantity of the goods and vehicles instead it is left to the bidders. There are few conditions as well to be observed :
- Each lot/unit shall be sold by separate auction.
- Customs or the Auction Committee reserves the right to cancel or postpone the auction without assigning any reason.
- The auction committee shall fix a reserve price which will be 50% of the value of the goods/unit assessed by the Department for the bids to start with.
- Auction committee may cancel the bids which fall below the fixed reserve price.
- The successful bidder shall be required to make payment immediately after the conclusion of each separate auction.
- The successful bidder shall be required to make an advance payment of Dhs. 2,000/-or the sum decided by the committee in proportion to the bid amount cash against the lot and the balance amount required to pay either by cash or cheque after the conclusion of each separate auction.
- In case of non payment of the bid amount in full, the advance amount paid against the lot shall be forfeited.
- In any case where the cheque is returned unpaid, or the bidder refuses to pay the balance amount, the bidder shall be disqualified from participating in any further auction of this Department.
- Once any bid has been accepted, the successful bidder shall not be permitted to withdraw his bid, nor refuse payment.
- Once the payment has been made, no claim for refunds from the bidders shall be entertained.
- The successful bidder must remove the goods within 7 days from the date of auction, failing which the balance remaining shall be retained for inclusion in the following auction or held liable for port storage charges if the bidder intend to take delivery before the commencement of the next auction.
On receiving the full and final of the bid amount, the bidder can take the possession of goods/vehicles for which Customs will issue a Customs Bill. The persons/company concerned may claim refund of the balance amount after deducting administrative expenses incurred, within one year from the sale date with necessary documentary evidences, failing which such balance will be transferred to the treasury.
