Containers from China stranded at Chennai Port get clearance

Chennai Customs has waived late fee for Bills of Entry

After several days, containers from China stranded at the Chennai Port have got clearance. Nearly 120 containers have been taken out and 100 more are waiting, sources said.

Owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, most of the offices in China were shut and documents having details of the consignees were lying there. Hence, the containers could not be cleared, sources said.

Now, in a big relief to consignees and agents, Chennai Customs has waived late fee for Bills of Entry (BoE) that are filed late. “Keeping in view the exigency because of COVID-19 in China and in order to facilitate clearance of the consignments, it is decided in the public interest that Bills of Entry filed late for clearance of import consignments from China will not attract any late fee charges...” the circular read.

BoE shows information of goods in the container, like its type and quantity and where it came from.

After a container gets to the port, the consignee or the agent should file the BoE within a day, failing which they have to pay a penalty of ₹5,000 for first three days and ₹10,000 for every day after that, sources said. “Now, the consignees and the agents have found alternative ways; they have now shown a copy of the original document and getting it cleared; later, they have to produce the original and get it regularised,” another source said.

Chennai Customs also has set up a help desk to resolve issues that arise out of late filing of BoE in getting documents from Chinese supplier, the circular said.