India has extended the deadline for re-exporting vessels imported to different ports in India by three months, bringing enormous relief to exporters. The current policy permits duty-free importation of containers with the condition that they will be reexported within six months.
The government notification states that by extending the deadline for re-exports of imported vessels, an increase in containers for trade will be available since it will decrease the export of empty containers. Several other relief measures have been outlined by the government, including an emphasis on bulk exports to alleviate container shortages. Optimizing ship space ensures that fewer containers are moved and fewer spaces are occupied.
A reduction of turnaround time is also being discussed with the Ministry of Railways, Shipping, and Road Transport. Railways have been instructed to use railroad wagons as a replacement for containers very soon. Perishable agro products are also covered by the Transport and Management Assistance Program until March of 2022.
The Container Shipping Lines Association Executive Director, Sunil Vaswani, reported that a vast amount of empty TEU has been shipped into India so far, at a cost of thousands of dollars per TEU.
“Besides, the shipping lines have also brought to the attention of the Government about almost 20,000 TEU of long standing import containers have been lying uncleared and abandoned. Cargoes from these containers need to be auctioned immediately by Customs and related agencies and release containers to the shipping lines for making them available for exports. Alternatively, cargo from these containers should be offloaded in some bonded warehouses and the containers released for exports to the lines”, Vaswani added.
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