The Nepali diplomat took the initiative after shipping companies and Kolkata Port Authority slapped demurrage fee of more than Rs 5 million on Nepali importers due to two-week long disruption in customs clearance at Kolkata port.
“We have initiated dialogue with concerned shipping companies to minimize the demurrage charge. We are hopeful that shipping firms will consider our request to extend grace period for demurrage charge exemption to 20 days from existing 10 days,” Chandra Kumar Ghimire, Nepali Consul General to Kolkata, told Republica over phone on Sunday.
According to Ghimire, Kolkata Port Authority has already assured Nepali importers that it would extend grace period.
Shipping companies are levying anywhere between US$ 40 to $150 per day per container as demurrage fee. Around 15 shipping companies are involved in transporting Nepal´s third country imports.
Clearance of Nepal bound third-country imports has been disrupted at Kolkata port for the past two weeks due to problems in customs checking following arrest of some staff members of Kolkata customs during recent raid by Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) of India.
Ghimire said customs clearance process at the port is still very slow. He, however, said Indian officials have assured him that they would resolve the problem at the earliest. “Indian customs officials have assured us that all pending works at the customs will be completed within a week,” said Ghimire.
Around 1,500 Nepal-bound containers have been stranded in Kolkata port due to disruption in customs clearance process.
Indian customs in Kolkata, which used to give clearance to more than 100 containers a day, at present is clearing only around 20 containers a day.
According to a trader, CBI raided Kolkata customs following dispute that originated from unfair competition among Nepali customs clearing agents.
MoCS instructs consul general over Kolkata problems
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has issued written instructions to the Nepali consulate in Kolkata to do the needful in resolving the problem at the earliest.
“We have instructed our consul general in Kolkata to help resolve the issue after business associations formally requested us to take initiative for resolving the problems,” a source at the MoCS told Republica.
Business associations in Biratnagar and Birgunj had approached the ministry to take initiative for resolving problems in Kolkata port at the earliest.
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