The shipping fraternity in Kochi has opposed port management’s decision to bring down dwell time for import cargo by reducing the number of free days.
A spokesman of the coordination committee of port users told Business Line that the move to cut the number of free days from the present seven to three from March 2015 would only impose a great financial burden on the importer, forcing them to divert cargo.
The move will automatically increase the cost of operations for import with ₹1,600 for 20 ft containers and ₹3,200 for 40 ft containers. Any additional cost to an import container will result in reduction of imports to Kochi and thus will affect equipments availability in higher cost of exports.
“A move such as this, in ports where there is congestion, is understandable. However, in Kochi, where the terminal is operating at only one third its capacity the present move defies logic”, he added.
However, the port management was of the view that the reduction in dwell time for clearance from ICTT will go a long way in reducing the time for physical receipt of imported goods by the consignee. It will also result in reduction of cost of avoidance of chances of demurrage and other detention cost.
A senior port official said that the average dwell time for import cargo in Kochi is now 15.36 days, which is much longer than the dwell time in other Indian ports. The decision to bring down the time to two days was taken by the Kochi Customs after an analysis carried out by them, which revealed that major part of the time was taken for filing the Bill of Entry by the importer.
According to Customs officials, they have to achieve the 72 hour target for dwell time import cargo set by the Central Board of Excise and Customs for all Customs formations in the country by March 15. Kochi Customs has the dubious distinction for having the highest dwell time for import cargo due to long free period offered at the Vallarpadam terminal.
With shipping lines offering commodity wise free days ranging between 14 to 21 days for Line Detention charges, the port users pointed out that the management’s decision would reverse all the good work done to attract cargo.
They said that the seven days free time for port storage charges being offered now should in no way be curbed. Rather it should be used as a marketing tool to attract more cargo to the port.