AFTER the first auction drew no bidders, the national government will attempt to auction off for the second try five luxury cars seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in May and June last year.
If this one’s successful, the government expects to raise at least P29.087 million.
The most expensive luxury car up for public auction on January 24 is the 2008 Ferrari Scuderia 430 with a floor price of P23.225 million.
Other vehicles up for auction are: the 2001 Porsche Boxster with a floor price of P1.798 million; a 2011 Mercedes E220 (P1.492 million); a 2001 Mercedes SLK55 (P1.324 million); and, a 2001 Mercedes SLK350 worth P1.248 million.
The public auction will be conducted by the recently-formed Inter-Agency Auction (IAA) Committee at the auction room of the Bureau of the Treasury in Intramuros, Manila.
If a failed bidding is declared, the terms and conditions of the public auction state that item of the sale lot shall be re-offered after five calendar days upon the publication in the official website and or social media page of the participating agencies and posting in a conspicuous place of the BOC headquarters.
However, Customs Assistant Commissioner and Spokesman Vincent Philip C. Maronilla clarified that holding another public bidding is not the only option the bureau can take. Maronilla said the BOC may instead opt for a negotiated sale if the IAA committee declares a failed bidding.
For a negotiated sale to be considered, Maronilla said there should at least be two failed public biddings.
“[Holding another public auction] is still an option because we are not precluded to go to a third or fourth [public bidding] as long as that is still a viable option rather than a negotiated sale,” Maronilla told the BusinessMirror.
In December last year, the IAA Committee—composed of representatives from the BOC, Bureau of the Treasury and the Land Bank of the Philippines—declared a failed bidding during the first public auction of the luxury cars as these didn’t receive any bid.
The government’s disposal of luxury vehicles seized by the BOC through public auction came after Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III ordered the bureau to do so.
Previously, smuggled vehicles were destroyed instead of being auctioned off as the BOC followed President Duterte’s directive.
In 2018, Duterte said he wanted to do away with the public auction of smuggled luxury cars as he alleged that smugglers take advantage of the auction to buy the vehicles at a cheaper price.