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New Delhi: Bengaluru Customs will have an end-of-year high-value electronics auction which will probably appeal to bulk traders and refurbishers. There will be 227 unclaimed electronic items, confiscated and seized, which will be auctioned in the MSTC e-auction system on December 30.
The single-lot sale consists of 175 Apple iPhones, 21 Apple Watches, 26 Android flagship smartphones, some iPads and even a 65-inch TV. Although the lineup sounds enticing, it is not the sale to be made to individual buyers. That will be a bulk-sell one auction and a highly business-orientated auction.
The custom has made it clear that bidders are not allowed to select the individual devices. The only condition is the bidder has to buy the entire 227 items. This arrangement ensures that the auction is appropriate to electronics traders, refurbishing companies and approved recyclers as opposed to the ordinary consumers who want to purchase a discounted phone or watch.
It will be the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation (MSTC) Limited that is handling the whole online bidding process and thus will be responsible for conducting the e-auction. Only registered users of MSTC will participate. Bidding shall not be allowed without prior registration on the platform.
Bidders must have a valid GST registration. The auction is also being done using a reverse charge mechanism; that is, the buyer must pay the relevant taxes and bring full compliance. The winning bidder will not have its tax payments undertaken by customs.
The interested registered bidders may view the items physically at the godown of airport customs within Kempegowda International Airport. The inspection period ends on December 29. It is the sole opportunity to evaluate the state of the gadgets since everything sells on an as-is-where-is basis.
The auction is associated with strict rules of payments. The final payments and earnest money deposits are required to be made within the given deadlines. Any form of delay may result in fines, deposit loss or even suspension of the MSTC account of the bidder.
In the case of companies that buy and sell refurbished or bulk electronics, this auction might prove to be a good opportunity to bulk out before the end of the year. To the rest of us, it is still an intriguing look at the methods of recovery of confiscated devices, which find their way back into the marketplace silently.
