As the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) prepares to reopen its electronic auction portal
(e-auction) for public participation on January 15, Nigerians have urged for openness.
Remember that the NCS launched the e-auction platform in July 2017? It was halted as a
result of numerous customer complaints and hacking attempts.
In four weeks across the nation, the NCS claimed to have raised N49 million and registered
254 winners of various auctions.
While encouraging interested parties to carefully analyze and adhere to the rules of this e-
auction, the NCS has also offered participation to its officers and the owners of the
confiscated assets.
According to the NCS, the public can register at https://auction.nigeriatrade hub.gov.ng as
the portal opens on Monday. Every Tuesday, the auction dwell time is six hours, from 12
p.m. to 6 p.m.
Although Taiwo Fatomilola, the National Public Relations Officer of the Association of
Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), expressed that it was a positive step,
the process needed to be impartial and free.
He voiced his concern about the process’s lack of transparency, saying: “I hope the
applicants and winners will not be the same folks who have been using the site since its
inception, which tainted the process five years ago. The method is meant to be impartial and
unrestricted. Though nothing seems to work in Nigeria, I’m hoping this one does.”
Iwayeye Olatunji, Manager of Client Services at Inspired Cars, praised the exercise and
pointed out that human interference will be minimized if the process is entirely automated.
He asked the head of Customs to make sure that there was no manipulation of any kind, noting
that a 50% efficiency would be just for the general population.
Some consignments have remained at the ports for a while, according to Lucky Amiwero,
President of the National Council of Managing Director of Licenced Customs Agents
(NCMDLCA), and the owners need to be able to bid on them.
The NCS stipulated throughout the participation procedure that interested individuals must
have an active email address and a valid tax identification number (TIN) from the Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which may be verified on Tax Promax.
According to the NCS, there must be quick payment, 7.5 percent VAT, and, if necessary, a
refundable container deposit.
Regarding fees and payments, the customs agency stated that each bid is subject to a
participation charge of N1,000 and that the public should pay a non-refundable
an administrative fee of N1,000 through the platform’s channel.
