To,
The Minister for Ports & Shipping,
Kamran Michael,
Islamabad
Respected Sir,
I would like to draw your kind attention towards the unfair and unnecessarily rates charged by the terminal operators and shipping companies from the importers in share of terminal handling.
The importers are compelled to pay hefty amounts in share of service charges including R&D charges, Weighment/Re-Weighment charges, measurement charges, CFS charges and other unnecessarily charges in addition with demurrage and detention charges.0 While, terminal operators are charging terminal handling charges in addition with demurrage charges.
The business community and other stakeholders including importers are facing tremendous problems in paying such unnecessarily charges to terminal operators and shipping companies, adding that those charges have also increased the cost of imported products.
Highlighting the weaknesses of the operations at terminals, I would like to inform you that containers’ grounding issue has not yet resolved at terminals. Delay in examination has become the routine practice at terminals despite the fact that the Examination Request (ER) stats that the containers should be grounded and arranged for examination within 6 hours.
Absence of skilled labour and lack of machinery & resources at terminals is also putting an adverse impact on the entire clearing process, adding that there is no secure examination area. Due to this, the consignee is often getting 2-3 items short in their consignments.
I hope that you will take these issues into consideration and issue directives for redressal of these prevailing problems faced by importers and business community.
Yours’ Truly,
Mehboob Ahmed,
Karachi
