The Kenya Revenue Authority will on Wednesday and Thursday auction goods worth millions of shillings at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and the Port of Mombasa.
The items include high-end used vehicles, motorcycles, household items, bags of sugar, gypsum powder, textile, aluminium bauxite, and massage oils and perfumes among other imported goods that have been stuck at the port of Mombasa.
The good at JKIA include Russian beer, whisky, vodka, assorted wines and personal effects.
KRA's Nairobi Customs Station chief manager Bernard Kibiti said the goods can be viewed at the JKOIA customs warehouse./
Majority of the cargo to be auctioned was brought into the country between January and May this year, according to Gazette Notice dated August 26.
Interested buyers may view the goods at several Container Freight Stations in Mombasa including; BFT, Kencont, FOC, and Portside Shed 7/8 among others.
KRA Mombasa Chief Manager Port Operation Rosemary Mureithi said the auction in Mombasa is provided for under the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA).
“Pursuant to the provisions of section 42 of the East African Community Customs Management Act, notice is given that unless the under-mentioned goods are entered and removed from the custody of the Customs Warehouse Keeper, Kilindini within thirty (30) days of this notice, they may be sold by public auction on the 29th September, 2022,” reads part of the notice.
However, the law provides that the KRA Commissioner for Customs may extend the period for the removal of goods imported by the partner states governments, diplomatic missions or aid agencies.
The reserve price of goods offered at an auction is set by the Commissioner for customs and border control and shall be inclusive of duties, expenses, rent, freight and other charges.
Goods offered at the auction cannot be sold at a price below the reserved price.
“An importer is allowed to pay for duties and any other charges to take possession of their goods gazetted for auction before the auction takes place,” says the notice.
Goods to be auctioned have stayed longer than the stipulated time in the customs areas including the port CFS and transit go-downs.
A list is prepared that includes the description of the goods, the owners and their address, physical location of the goods, then the goods are physically inspected to confirm the details and descriptions and assigned lot numbers.
This list is then forwarded to the government printers with a notice calling the importers to enter and remove the goods within 30 days, failure to which the goods will be sold in a public auction on a particular date.
Once the notice is published in the Kenya Gazette, a second and much detailed examination of the listed goods is carried out by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, port health pharmacy and poisons board to determine their suitability to be offloaded into the Kenyan market.
Should they be found unfit, they are condemned for destruction and cannot be sold.
The commissioner is also expected to appoint a valuation customs officer to inspect the goods and assign reserve prices.
This cannot be less than the taxes payable for the goods if they were to be entered and removed normally.
The auctioneer is appointed by the commissioner on the morning of the auction and the reserve prices handed to the appointed auctioneer at the floor.
