The agents of global shipping liners have told Nepali importers that waiver of the container detention fee is “out of their mandate.” Request for it cannot be processed from Kolkata.
The members of the Association of Shipping Interests in Calcutta (ASIC), who mostly run the branch offices of major liners, said that while they were “sympathetic” to the plight of importers, they “cannot play any role” in reducing losses.
A request for waiver was made at a weekend meeting here between members of the ASIC and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI). Sandeep Agrawal, an executive committee member of the FNCCI, said the country’s importers had already lost nearly 200 hundred crore in the Indian rupee because of the moratorium on goods traffic from India to Nepal. If the problem continued, many importers “will go bankrupt.” He said 70 per cent of Nepal’s imports passed through India.
The ASIC office-bearers told The Hindu that the shipping liners were mostly located in other countries and the members of the association acted as their “branch offices,” an ASIC official said.
He said other public sector organisations were never asked for a fee waiver, but the liners were asked to do so whenever a problem arose. “Such waivers were requested and granted by the liners during Nepal’s earthquake. We have to remember that the present problem [moratorium on cargo movement] has occurred because of an issue between the two governments, but Nepal has never asked the state-owned enterprises like Container Corporation of India, the port authorities or the railways for any relaxation. So, in a way, we are the soft targets,” the ASIC official said.
“The contracts are among exporters, liners and importers and how can we, the branch or sales offices of the liner, waive the fee,” asked the official, who represents one of the shipping companies.
He said the ASIC requested the Nepalese Consul-General to issue an “advisory” that Nepalese importers were facing an alarming situation rather than “pushing for a [fee] waiver.” He, however, said they would “forward the request” to the head offices of the liners.
An unprecedented volume of Nepal-bound iron containers has been held up at various places in eastern India.
