LAHORE: Pakistan FMCG Importers Association (PFIA) has appealed to the government and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to waive, all demurrages/detention charges and penal interest for next two months, levied on imported goods kept in bonded warehouses due to the lock down clamped by different provincial governments due to Corona Virus attack.
Lockdown, delays in clearance of cargo and shorter banking hours may incur heavy demurrages charged by port authorities and private terminal operations while shipping lines/agents will impose container detention charges after the standard free time allowed, feared PFIA Vice Chairman Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer.
Talking to this scribe, he said that a large number of containers have stuck on port awaiting clearance due to lockdown announced by Sindh and other governments. Even if they are cleared there is dearth of transport despite the fact there is no ban on goods transportation. Importers have to suffer huge losses if these containers are not cleared and they have to pay demurrages and detention charges. He also appealed to the State Bank of Pakistan that import documents sent by the principles of importers are not reaching the banks in Pakistan in time, so the banks must be asked to clear such cases on the basis of photocopies of documents.
He said that the banks should also be allowed DA payments against documents to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector instead of cash against documents.
