Col. (rtd) Kwadwo Damoah, Customs Commissioner
THE GHANA Revenue Authority (GRA) has stated that its Customs Division is the only agency mandated by law to auction confiscated vehicles and not any official or member of the Confiscated Assets Committee at the Osu Castle.
Prince Akwaboah, an official of GRA, who disclosed this to members of the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) last week in Koforidua during a two-day workshop, was reacting to a question on a situation where the Customs Division of the GRA auctions confiscated vehicles to the highest bidder but it turns out that the Confiscated Assets Committee has also auctioned the same vehicle to other people, creating conflict.
He said any member of the public who wants to buy any vehicle being auctioned should deal with the Customs Division of GRA because the Confiscated Assets Committee only monitors the auctioning of items confiscated to ensure these have been properly disposed of.
Sections 53(1)(3) and 59(1) of Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) and Part 9(B)(Para A) of The Customs Departmental Instructions, authorizes the forfeiture of goods and vehicles imported into the country and not entered and cleared within 21 days and 60 days after final discharge.
Taking participants through the auction process, Mr. Akwaboah said the state warehouse officer compiles a list of forfeited goods/vehicles at the various ports/collections and submits same to the Commissioner of Customs for approval for gazette. Once approved, the list is sent for publication in the Gazette/Commercial and Industrial Bulletin (CIB) at the Ghana Assembly Press (Section 126(4) of the Customs Act).
“The gazette is allowed 14 days notice after which those goods/vehicles may be sold by Public Auction or Allocation.
“An auctioneer licensed under section 6 of CAP 196 is appointed to conduct the auctions. The list of goods/vehicles to be sold with their reserved prices is given to the auctioneer on the day of the auction. The date for auction is published in at least two daily newspapers of national circulation. The newspaper publication is usually allowed a minimum of 48 hours before the auction. The conduct of the auction is guided by the Auction Sales Act, 1989 (PNDCL 230).”
He continued, among other things, that an auctioneer licensed under section 6 of CAP 196 is appointed to conduct the auctions, while the list of goods/vehicles to be sold with their reserved prices is given to him on the day of the auction.
Also, on perishable goods, he mentioned that Sections 53(3) (a) and 126 (3) authorizes the immediate sale of perishable goods deposited in a state warehouse not cleared after 21 days of final discharge.
BY Samuel Boadi