Government Allows Auctioning Seized Cars: Full Details

The Egyptian government's recent decision to accelerate the disposal of seized vehicles and those stored in impound lots and car graveyards, paving the way for public auctions, has sparked widespread questions among citizens. Many are wondering whether the state can sell any vehicle under seizure and what regulations govern this process.

Allowed Sale Cases

Major General Magdy El-Shahid, a traffic expert, confirmed that the government decision does not apply to all impounded vehicles indiscriminately. El-Shahid explained that the law specifies particular cases in which vehicles may be sold at public auction, while ownership of other cars remains reserved for their owners until legal procedures are concluded. The permitted cases include vehicles whose ownership has transferred to the state through a legal decision or court ruling, or those for which the Public Prosecution has issued a disposal order.

Vehicle Categories Targeted for Auction

The traffic expert added that among the cases eligible for public auction are smuggled customs vehicles, cars with outstanding financial dues to the state that owners have failed to pay after exhausting all legal procedures, and vehicles subject to confiscation rulings or those whose ownership has been transferred to the Fund for Management and Disposal of Recovered and Impounded Assets.

Seizure Does Not Mean Immediate Sale

El-Shahid emphatically stated that merely impounding a vehicle does not grant any authority the right to sell it. He clarified that a vehicle seized in connection with a case or violation is first referred to the Public Prosecution, which decides either to release it to its owner or possessor, or to continue its storage in impound lots pending investigation. The owner retains the right to recover their vehicle upon settling dues or removing the cause of seizure, provided no final confiscation ruling or legal decision transferring ownership has been issued.

Clarification on Abandoned Vehicles

El-Shahid refuted rumors regarding the sale of all vehicles in car graveyards. He stressed that abandoned vehicles undergo different procedures, beginning with efforts to locate their owners through chassis and engine data, cross-referencing traffic records to verify their legal status and whether they are wanted in a case or reported stolen.