The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says its newly launched electronic bidding platform is being abused by “some fraudulent persons”.
Customs public relations officer, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Attah said in a statement made available to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY that the Service would prosecute fraudulent bidders who have made outrageous bidding for some of the items on auction in a bid to scare away other bidders.
“Going forward, once the winner fails to pay within five working days, the item automatically reverts for re-uploading and fresh bidding. Interestingly, the system is recording the identities of these fraudulent bidders through submitted information from the Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). Such numbers will be deactivated as well as blocked from any further transaction with NCS.
“While those fraudulent bidders risk prosecution, genuine bidders are assured of the Service determination to ensure the success of the online auction process,” he said.
Attah said the second bidding period held last week recorded 115 winners showing an improvement over the first, which produced 43 winners.
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