Ctg customs to auction off undelivered apples
The Chittagong Customs House will auction off today around 1.49 lakh kg of fresh apples as the importer did not take delivery of the consignment from the port in due time.
An open bidding will start at Customs Auction Hall at 2:00pm. Bidders will be able to buy the fruit at a cheaper rate. The apples arrived in six containers at Chittagong Port in May and all were unloaded by May 14.
According to rules, importers need to take delivery of their consignment within 30 days after the goods are unloaded from ships at the port jetty. If the importer fails to receive the consignment during the period, the customs authorities issue notice to the importer, and if the importer does not take delivery within 15 days into issuing the notice, the goods can be auctioned off.
According to the auction department of Chittagong Customs House, Chittagong-based fruit importer and trader Azizia Trade International Ltd imported the apples from China.
Proprietor of the importing firm, Jashim Uddin, told The Daily Star that they did not take delivery as the quality of the fruit was found to be below standard.
“We took time as we contacted the exporter and requested for giving discount as the fruit was of substandard quality. After several contacts, the exporter agreed to offer us about a 90 percent discount on the original value,” said Jashim. The total value of the imported fruit was $35,580, he said.
Jashim said they were taking steps with the help of the clearing and forwarding agent to receive the consignment.
Chittagong Customs House Assistant Commissioner (auction) Md Ahsan Ullah, however, said they had no idea about any such step by the importer.
The auction will be held at the scheduled time; if the importer wants to take delivery, it will have to file a writ petition with the High Court, he said.
The customs authorities have recently taken a special programme to expedite the sale of cargoes to be auctioned off as a huge number of such undelivered containers piled up on the port yards, hampering the port activities.
Over 5,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of such import containers were lying at the auction unit of the port yard. On August 13, 18 containers, including 16 of oranges, were auctioned off, said port sources.
Comments