GRA cautions general public against auction scam

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has sent a word of caution to the general public to be wary of an online site – www.locanto.com.gh purporting to carry out the auction of vehicles for and on behalf of the Customs Division of GRA.

GRA in a statement clarified that it had not contracted any third party to engage and sell vehicles to the general public on its behalf, and cautioned the public to disregard locanto or any other person purporting to be dealing on its Customs Division’s behalf.

“We wish to state categorically that the Division has not contracted any third party or platform to auction vehicles on its behalf. The platform – www.locanto.com.gh – has NOT been given authorization by GRA to auction vehicles on its behalf.

“We urge all persons who are desirous of purchasing items on auction from the Customs Division to take note of this information and not purchase vehicles from this website. We also assure them that we are investigating the unauthorized use of the Customs Division to auction goods and those found culpable will be sanctioned accordingly.”

The statement further advised any person wishing to buy items from Customs to visit the organization’s official website for further enquiries.

“Online auctions of vehicles and general goods were first piloted on Friday, October 21, 2022, via the E-Auction module on the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) as part of the rollout of the ICUMS and it was introduced to make the auction process easier and more convenient.

“Persons interested in participating in auction of vehicles and general goods from the Customs Division should kindly sign up on http://auction.icums.gov.gh.”