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The Bureau of Customs declared as failed bid the public auction of five seized luxury vehicles on December 13
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No bids were received for any of the lots
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The items will be re-offered for a second bidding
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If second bidding fails, BOC will proceed with a negotiated sale
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The public bidding was the first conducted by the new Inter-Agency Auction Committee following a new BOC policy on disposition of seized luxury vehicles
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Items will now be auctioned off, and no longer destroyed, to help fund government’s pandemic response
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has declared as failed bidding its public auction of five seized smuggled luxury vehicles.
BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group deputy commissioner Edward James DyBuco said no bids were received for any of the five vehicles during the public auction livestreamed on BOC’s official Facebook page on December 13.
Vehicles on the auction block were auctioned were a Porsche Boxter (2001) with a floor price of P1.798 million; Mercedes SLK350 (2001), P1.248 million; Mercedes SLK55 (2001), P1.324 million; Ferrari Scuderia 430 (2008), P23.225 million; and Mercedes E220 (2011), P1.492 million.
The vehicles were seized in May and June this year and were issued final and executory orders of forfeiture by BOC.
DyBuco said that pursuant to Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 03-2020, when a failed bidding is declared, the item or sale lot shall be re-offered after five calendar days of publication on the official website and/or social media page of the bureau and posting in a conspicuous area of the port.
If the second bidding fails, DyBuco said BOC would proceed with a negotiated sale.
The public bidding was the first conducted by the Inter-Agency Auction Committee following instructions from Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to dispose of the seized luxury vehicles through public auction, instead of destruction, to raise additional funds for the national government’s pandemic response.
READ: BOC to auction off, no longer destroy, seized luxury vehicles
The inter-agency committee—formed last December 1 and composed of representatives from BOC, Bureau of the Treasury, and Land Bank of the Philippines—aims to ensure transparency of the bidding process and promote competition through broad dissemination of auction information.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the destruction of seized vehicles to deter smugglers from buying the vehicles and then selling them in the domestic market.
