The Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA) has outlined new directives on auction of items at the various ports in Ghana.
The new directives contained in a circular lists the processes through which goods in the custody of the GRA will be auctioned of to the public.
According to the statement, the ratio of distribution of goods by the GRA will now involve 70 percent allocation to the General Public, while thirty percent goes to the Confiscated Assets Committee.
In addition, the reserve price shall be two times the duties payable plus 50 percent of the value of the asset.
Meanwhile, where the original owner of the asset becomes the beneficiary of the auction, the reserve price will be twice the duties payable only.
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The new directives are to take immediate effect and will apply to all new auction sales or allocation.
Additionally, all previous allocations or sales not paid for and cleared by their beneficiaries by the end of this October 2019 shall be forfeited and allocated or sold at new auctions.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the 2018 Auditor-General’s Report revealed that a total of 1,719 vehicles that were confiscated by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) between 2015 and 2017, and auctioned by the authority cannot be accounted for.
Additionally, the report indicated that while GRA officials provided information on just 669 of the vehicles, there was no ample proof of the exact amount that was accrued to the state from the auction of those vehicles.
An auction is a system of buying and selling goods or services by offering them for bidding, allowing people to bid, and selling to the highest bidder.
Goods auctioned at various ports in Ghana are overstayed vehicles and goods in their various warehouse at the ports.
