Taxman plans to auction all uncleared goods
TRA acting director for taxpayer service and education Richard Kayombo
Dar es Salaam. Goods belonging to some government institutions and multinational companies are earmarked to be auctioned by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) if they are not cleared in 30 days.
According to a public notice signed by the Commissioner for Customs and Excise, the goods shall be deemed abandoned if they are not removed from the customs area within 30 days of the date of the notice.
“After the expiry of the stated time, the goods shall be sold by public auction or may be disposed of in the manner the commissioner may deem fit,” read part of the notice.
The total number of goods as per the notice is 1,889 stored in different warehouses in different regions of the country.
A close look at the notice shows that some of the goods that are to be auctioned if they are not cleared within a period of 30 days include those belonging to different government institutions and ministries while other goods belong to UN entities and multinational companies in the country.
The goods also belong to different companies and non-governmental institutions.
According to the notice, at least 736 goods are currently stored at LW9 warehouses situated along Water Front area while 172 goods are situated in different locations including Dar es Salaam port and ICDs with no consignee name and bill of lading.
A total of nine goods have overstayed at Tanga port while crude palm oil was also advertised for overstaying.
Meanwhile, 868 goods were also advertised for overstaying at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA), and 42 others for overstaying at Mwanza and 21 others at Kasumulu, and five others at Ruvuma.
Thirty five other goods were advertised for having overstayed due to suspense procedures.
Contacted, TRA acting director for taxpayer service and education Richard Kayombo said the notice is for 30 days and the goods will be sold after that.
He said that whether the goods were from the government ministry or institution or even companies from the private sector they were all counted as importers and if they failed to remove them within 30 days they will be auctioned.
