The Government is considering a proposal wherein ports may have to pay a penalty to traders in case their cargo gets delayed due to congestion at the ports, official sources told Business Line.
The Commerce Ministry has already sent this proposal to the Shipping Ministry, which is the nodal body for 12 major ports in the country. The Shipping Ministry is examining the issue.
This proposal was a part of several suggestions made by an inter-ministerial task force led by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, to suggest ways to reduce the transaction costs for traders.
Transaction costs include time and money spent by traders in complying with Government norms on foreign trade. Mr Scindia has already met the Shipping Minister, Mr G. K. Vasan, in this regard.
“Ports like JNPT and Chennai levy a congestion charge on shippers. The shippers, in turn, pass it on to the traders. In effect, the traders are bearing the cost of congestion at ports,” explained an official of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the apex body of exporters