Chattogram Bureau :
Chittagong Custom’s e-auction (online auction) activities have come to a halt on Thursday in just 6 months of the inauguration. Thirty five lots of products have been auctioned in just two bids. In the second auction, all of them were onions.
Bidders (auction participants) say e-auctions have increased the reverse. The only way to submit an e-auction is to submit a tender online. Everything else is the same as before. So the purpose of e-auction has failed. The bidders said that the customs authorities had shown short-sightedness by opening the e-auction system without resolving the flaws. Meanwhile, on May 25, the customs authorities are expected to auction 64 lots of different products including fabrics in a manual manner.
According to the auction branch, the member of the National Board of Revenue (VAT policy) Masood Sadiq inaugurated the e-auction activities as the chief guest. Speaking as the chief guest at the meeting held at the conference room of Chittagong Custom House, Masud Sadiq said, “We attach utmost importance to digitization of the activities of the custom house.” As part of this we are starting online auctions. In the online auction, a bidder can participate in the auction sitting at home. This is a new horizon.
On the same day, 18 lots of fabring, garlic, soda ash, iron pipe and scrap products were auctioned through e-auction. A total of 36 tenders were submitted in 6 out of 16 lots. Later, on January 20 this year, about 1100 tons of onions were picked in e-auction on 19 lots. A total of 91 tenders have been submitted in that auction.
Regarding the e-auction, Syed Zahirul Islam Naeem, a regular bidder of Chittagong Customs and owner Reza, said, “We are not getting any of the benefits of the e-auction.” So far in e-auction we have been able to submit only tenders online.
