A 2006 model Range Rover attracted the highest bid of Tk 53 lakh at the Chattogram Custom House's attempt to auction off 108 cars.

Chattogram-based trading company Farzana Trading offered the price for the 4197cc car, the reserve value of which was Tk 4.31 crore.

Luxury vehicles of different brands, including BMW, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Mercedes and Lexus, were also up for auction, according to the list of the highest bidders.

The auction started on June 13 and it ended on June 21 where over 1,000 bidders took part.

The customs house published the list of the highest bidders on the concluding day.

The second highest bid for another 2005 model Range Rover was Tk 45 lakh.

Dhaka-based company Nawshi International Ltd offered the price for the 4197cc car. The reserve value of the 2005 model Range Rover was about Tk 3.46 crore.

The lowest bid in the auction was for a 1834cc 2000 model Mitsubishi mini jeep car. A bidder offered Tk 3.5 lakh for the car although its price was Tk 46.98 lakh.

However, the authority is yet to select the bidders as most of the bids did not meet the expected price, according to customs officials.

At least 25-40 bidders have a chance to get the cars that would be announced next Sunday, they said.

Earlier, the vehicles were up for auction more than five times but the customs could sell only three cars due to the complexity in getting clearance permits from the commerce ministry for the cars, which are over five years old.

According to the law, importers and bidders need clearance permit to release over five-year-old vehicles from the port as Bangladesh restricts imports of such old cars.

Later, the customs authority collected permits against these older vehicles, because of which higher number of bidders were seen this year.

"We have published the list of the highest bidders of 108 cars. The auction committee will decide whether the cars will be given to them at their declared prices," Md Al Amin, deputy commissioner of the customs house in Chattogram, told The Daily Star.

This time, the prices of the vehicles were higher compared to the previous years, thanks to the collection of clearance permits for the older vehicles by the customs authority, said Mazharul Islam, a bidder.