Section 61: Disposal of goods

61. Disposal of goods (1) Where any goods are landed and are not claimed or removed within 2 months of being landed, the Director-General may cause the goods to be sold by public auction or public tender, as the Director-General may determine, after giving public notice of the sale. (2) Subsection (1) shall apply to goods which are dealt with in accordance with section 69 (2) or 77 (1). (2A) For the purpose of subsection (1), bidding documents for goods to be sold by public tender shall be submitted electronically through the Customs e-auction system, or in exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, in such other manner as the Director-General may determine. (3) — (4) The proceeds of any sale of goods under subsection (1) shall be applied to the payment of— (a) duty on the goods; (b) excise duty and taxes; (c) penalties and charges incurred; and (d) freight and other charges. C62 – 31 [Issue 9] Customs Act (5) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), the balance of the proceeds of any sale under subsection (1) shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund. (b) Where the balance of the proceeds of a sale has been paid into the Consolidated Fund, any person who is entitled to it may, not later than one year after the day of the sale, apply to the Director-General for a refund. (6) (a) Where goods other than seized goods cannot be sold for a sufficient price to cover duty, excise duty and taxes, the Director-General may direct that, in lieu of being sold, the goods shall be destroyed or reserved for a Ministry, a Government department, a local authority, a statutory body, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly, a foreign government or a charitable institution. (b) In this subsection— “charitable institution” has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Act. (7) Where the duty, excise duty and taxes on any goods on sale at any Customs sale is ad valorem, the value of such goods shall, if approved by the Director-General, be taken to be the price that may be fetched by the sale. (8) Notwithstanding this Act, where the Director-General is of the opinion that any goods specified in subsection (1) are of a perishable nature or that it is otherwise desirable to do so, he may direct that the goods be forthwith sold by public auction or public tender, or be destroyed where the goods have not been sold. (9) Where the Director-General is satisfied that goods have been damaged or outmoded or have deteriorated in value or have a short expiry date, he may revalue those goods for the purpose of sale under this section. [S. 61 amended by s. 3 (d) of Act 25 of 1994 w.e.f. 21 January 2004; s. 5 (c) of Act 28 of 2004 w.e.f. 26 August 2004; s. 8 (j) of Act 15 of 2006 w.e.f. 7 August 2006; s. 12 (l) of Act 9 of 2015 w.e.f. 14 May 2015; s. 11 (i) of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 29 September 2015, 7 September 2016 and 1 October 2016.] PART VI – PROHIBITED GOODS