Though the manual auction system for sale of FCV tobacco has been a time tested one, for fine tuning of the system the Board has opted for introduction of information technology braced fool proof technology in auctioning of FCV tobacco to have absolute transparency in the auction proceedings and to eliminate the errors that were been encountered in manual auction system.

 

e-Auction of FCV Tobacco	Growers Watching e-auction process on LED Screens

 

In tobacco sector, the e-Auction system for marketing of FCV tobacco is the first initiative and it is unique in operation than any other e-Auction system for commodities like Cardamom, Tea, Coal, etc.  In tobacco, the bidding process is very fast and it takes only 4 to 5 seconds for sale of each bale (bale consists of max. of 150kg tobacco).  The tobacco buyers shall present on the auction floor and see the tobacco bale for its colour, texture, aroma, flavour, moisture, size, etc., and offer the price.  The quality varies from bale to bale.

In electronic auction system for marketing of tobacco, all the buyers and starters are provided with electronic device called Hand Held Terminals (HHT).  All the data about the bales offered for sale, their weight, lot number and its grade and any other remarks are available in all the hand-held terminals.  By use of HHT, the starter starts a price to a particular lot/tobacco bale and the same appears on all the buyers HHTs and those buyers who are interested on that particular lot will go on adding price in multiples of Rs.1/- and the buyer who quotes highest will be allotted with the bale.  The system provides complete transparency in bidding process and facilitates growers to view the bidding process through the electronic displays.

Payment to the growers:

Board makes payment to the growers through RTGS / NEFT into their bank accounts by 11^th day from the date of auction sale.

Service Charges:

Tobacco Board collects service charges from the growers and the buyers @ 1% each on the value of tobacco sold.