Customs to e-auction seized goods from July 1
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) will sell seized goods from Saturday when its auction online portal is opened.
Its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Joseph Attah, said the goods would be sold to the highest bidders.
Attah, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, also said the NCS has embarked on campaigns on the trade facilitation programme and related issues to key into the Ease of Doing Business.
NCS’s PR Unit has unveiled posters and flyers, urging importers and agents to make genuine declarations of their goods to boost quick cargo clearance from the seaports, airports and border stations.
Given the approval by its Controller-General, Col. Hameed Alli (rtd) for the Customs to start e-auction of seized and prohibited goods, the Service has released a video sensitising the public on the plan.
Besides pasting posters at strategic points in its commands, the Service urged the business community, particularly importers, to avoid prohibited items’ import. It also urged clearing agents on the need to tell importers to pay appropriate Customs duty.
He said the Service was keen on improving transparency with stakeholders.
Attah added that if there was improved compliance among importers and clearing agents, cargo clearance would be faster.
“Our campaigns are targeted at a broad audience base because the more we dominate the various conventional and new media outlets with the true information for public consumption, the more difficult it becomes for unsuspecting members of the public to be misled or scammed.
“We had come out with a video that was shown on major television stations) on our weekly Customs Duty Programme.
“This is one sure way of fighting ignorance, which we all know is not an excuse for anyone caught on the wrong side of the law.
“My Controller-General is committed to transparency and lawful ways of transacting government business and utmost integrity in relationship with our fellow government agencies and private sector stakeholders,” Attah said.
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