The Nigeria
Customs Service (NCS) has come up with a new procedure for the disposal of
seized and overtime goods in its bid to address some of the perceived
irregularities relating to the past procedure including fake online auctions.
Consequently, the NCS confirmed that it is setting up four
different committees to handle the disposal of these categories of goods. The
committees include an Assessment Committee, Disposal Committee, Seizure
Committee and Overtime Committee.
According to the new guidelines signed by the
Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hammed Ali (rtd), perishable items with or
without defendants are to be properly disposed of by the relevant committee.
For items classified as general goods, the new guidelines
state that they are to be disposed of after condemnation by a competent Court
of Law: “Condemnation shall be done after 30 days of seizure, so far as there
is no notice of claim or litigation,” it says.
The guidelines also stipulated that all overtime cargoes
are to be published in the Federal Government’s gazette when they fall due over
30 days.
Under the new dispensation, the NCS will advertise
information on seized and overtime goods for disposal with their reserve prices
in the media and on its official website.
The authorities instructed interested buyers
to apply online, specifying items of interest to the committee on disposal,
adding that applications must be accompanied with an approved means of
identification such as a National Identity card, International Passport or
Driver’s Licence, in addition to a recent passport photograph scanned onto the
dedicated portal on the website.