Gov rejects penal rents plea

Dhaka: The government has rejected Chittagong port's plea for raising the existing penal rents in view of the likely resentment of the country's business community over such a move.

The business community protested the move for raising the penal rents at the country's main seaport and pointed out that it would increase the prices of imported essential commodities.

Earlier, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) proposed to the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) new penal rents raising the existing rate by four times and sought its urgent approval of the enhanced charges mainly for easing the container congestion at the Chittagong port yard.

Sources at the MoS said that it had already communicated with the CPA in this connection and asked it not to go for increasing the penal rents as the move might have a probable backlash from the country's business community.

'We've asked the CPA not to raise the existing penal rents as it might create dissent among the importers. But, the CPA's move for raising penal charges could be a good strategy for combating the container congestion at the port,' one senior MoS official said.

Sources at the CPA also said that the MoS asked it not to raise the penal rents especially during the period of the caretaker government.

Senior port officials said that the importers are taking the advantage of cheap storing charges at the port as the private depots and other storehouses are taking much higher rents than that charged by the CPA.

They also said the importers are preferring port yards not for its cheap penal rents but also for the reason of safety of the goods.
However, according to the CPA rules, each container is permitted to remain at the port yards free of charge for four days after discharge from the feeder vessels.

The importers failing to take delivery, within the free four days, will have to pay US$ 1.5 as penal rents for each container, from the fifth day to the seventh day under the present system.

According to the proposed new penal rents, importers would have to pay $ 6.0, a four times increase from the existing rate.
The container storage charge is $ 3.0 from the eighth day upto the 21st day, according to the existing rate.

Under the existing charge table, from the 22nd day and onwards the penal rents will mount to $ 18 for a single container.