There are bargains to be had from the monthly auctions and retail outlets of confiscated goods
The persistent can occasionally find incredible bargains at the retail shops like gold and silver. They are sold at Mumbai bullion prices less one per cent
Have you ever seen two Renaults, a Fiat and a scooter all sold for just Rs 50,000? Thats what O P S Hoon paid at the monthly customs house auction of confiscated goods in New Delhi. I bid for them on a whim. I didnt realise that the cars were all left-hand drive, he confesses as he inspects the goods. Running his fingers thoughtfully over a rusting section of the Renault, he remarks, Ill have to spend about Rs 30,000 on each car to get it into running condition... but I think its quite a good deal, since these can be restored as vintage buggies.
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The noisy four-hour auction comprised the sale of 28 lots (bidding categories) of goods totalling Rs 18 lakh. These lots included: cordless phones, photocopiers, colour televisions, video cassette players and recorders, video cameras, music systems, medical equipment, computers and software, and motor vehicle parts. The list of items ran into a mammoth 35 pages, so it was a relief that the actual bidding was done for a full lot at a time. The cheapest sold for a mere Rs 20,000 an assortment of three photocopying machines and 12 toner cartridges. The most expensive lot went for Rs 7.5 lakh a sizeable bounty of 300 fax machines.
Evidently, the 80-odd people at the auction were not overly concerned about the quality of the goods, considering the prices. Most bidders were dealers looking for goods that could be re-sold to clientele as bargain deals, so the auction of items in bulk was just their cup of tea. People had come from as far away as Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Chandigarh. Vikram Singh, a Chandigarh trader, picked up the 300 fax machines for just Rs 2,500 each. The fact that some of them lacked handsets and others were clearly marked damaged on the list did not bother him. I can salvage spare parts from the machines that cannot be used. I can also cannibalise some models for parts for other machines.
Customs authorities are not compelled to display much marketing savvy at these events. Auction participants were given just half an hour before the start of proceedings to look over the confiscated goods most of which were second-hand. A selection of these items was spread on large sheets in the buildings basement, where most of the tubelights didnt work. A select few (read the most pushy, and no special lines for women either) are given access to some of the godowns to inspect the larger goods. Dont expect the luxury of labels on the exhibits. One grey container holding a collection of assorted metal parts drew bewildered conspiratorial whispers: Is it a piece of medical equipment... Or some part of an automobile?
Several of the auction participants came more as spectators than genuine bidders; the Rs 5,000 earnest fee that one has to pay as entrance is refundable if one doesnt win a bid for anything. Some of the onlookers hoped to strike deals for individual items with those purchasing whole lots of goods. Take Sanjeev Arora, who wanted to buy a set of 10 Intel computer chips for a 486 DX2 central processor unit. I cant afford to buy the whole auction lot of computer parts, since there are eight separate items. Instead, Im going to ask the bid winner to sell me the computer chips at half the market price.
For those interested in individual confiscated items, there is also a retail shop at the customs house, open from 10 am to 5 pm on non-auction days. Besides the goods mentioned on the above auction list you can pick up smaller items like electronic diaries (Rs 800 to Rs 1500, depending on the kilobyte capacity), wristwatches (Rs 500 and above depending on the brand), video game equipment (Rs 550), and even sports shoes (unfortunately, these hadnt been valued yet, after it was discovered that they were actually Reobeks as opposed to the widely coveted original). Sales tax is extra, depending on the city in which you are buying.
The prices of the confiscated goods are set by a special committee on the basis of market quotations for similar products. As the committee only meets every few months, however, you can sometimes find slightly outdated prices which allow you a bit of a saving. Dont expect a wide selection of brand new products since the majority of these have to be sold to the National Co-operative Consumer Federation, according to customs regulations. The apex body then sells the goods to various regional co-operatives, to be retailed in their outlets.
The persistent can occasionally find some incredible bargains at the retail shop, like confiscated gold or silver. The precious metals are sold at Mumbai bullion prices, less 1 per cent well worth your while if youre a Delhi resident. The difference in the price of gold between the two cities can go up to Rs 100 for 10 grammes, according to customs officials. There are some conditions to fulfil before you buy gold: you should be an income tax assessee and should buy at least one kilogram, since the metal is sold in individual biscuits. One cant buy more than 5 kilograms at a time, however.
No corresponding conditions apply for the purchase of silver. The total value of these metals which was disposed of by the Delhi customs house last year was a whopping Rs 8 crore, despite the fact that such sales are not publicly announced.
Donald Ingty, additional commissioner of customs, says, Till quite recently, a lot of confiscated goods used to lie in our warehouses for long periods of time while the court cases were being settled. Now we are increasingly moving the courts for pre-trial disposal, so we hope to increase the availability of such items for purchase by the public. This is specially true for high value items like precious metals.
What happens if the case is decided in favour of the defendant after pre-trial disposal? The customs house simply returns the value of the good in cash to the defendant. The purchaser is not expected to return the asset, says Ingty reassuringly.
Apart from the customs house, auctions of confiscated imports are also held at the Airports Authority of India or the Inland Container Depot. The greatest volume of goods is seized in Mumbai, since it is both an international sea and air port, says Upendra Gupta, assistant commissioner, disposal. In Delhi last year, the value of confiscated goods disposal through auctions and the retail outlet totalled Rs 9.97 crore; the figure for Mumbai is estimated to be many times higher. There are clearly bargains to be had in confiscated goods.