Imported containers: APCAA angry over restriction of recording weight

All Pakistan Customs Agents Association (APCAA) has expressed resentment over the restriction of recording weight for all types of imported containers imposed by Directorate Risk Management (DRM) for clearance goods at ports. According to details, the DRM had declared recording of weight of all import containers mandatory and directed all terminal operators and off dock terminals to ensure its compliance as this information was deemed vital for various risk management parameters and the data field for communicating weight was already available in agreed message of gate out.

Therefore, all terminal operators and off dock terminals are ordered to ensure that no import container can proceed to gate-out clearance stage unless its weight is duly recorded and communicated to WeBOC. Reacting to this new development, Arshad Jamal, chairman APCAA and vice president FPCCI in his letter to DRM stated that the issue could be addressed under safety guidelines of the Safety of Life at Sea (SoLaS) VI Regulations. He said that clause 13.5 of the SoLaS Regulations was a ready reference to tackle this issue without hurting trade.

"In the event of an incident or an issue with the container stowage as part of port state control or investigation by the regulator, the carrier and/or their terminal representatives should be able to demonstrate that they have a system in place to ensure prior to the loading of packed containers that they verified gross mass for each container and that any changes in the container gross mass notified between pre booking and loading aboard a-ship are managed."

He advised that the cargo loaded on the vessel was in accordance with the stowage plan, which was monitored at each loading port hence the loading port was responsible for the declaration of the actual weight. Moreover, Arshad said that all liner vessels and terminals, using gantry cranes (container cranes) were fully computerized and could exchange the actual weight on board before leaving the port of loading.

He said that no liner vessel loaded cargo without a stowage plan therefore the liability for the declaration of the actual weight of the container should have been laid upon the liner vessel instead of squeezing importers to file the VIR in WeBOC. The chairman APCAA said that authority concerned in order to develop risk management system as per international standards should have updated the manual process in the system to handle cargo volume successfully.

However, this new development will create annual additional financial burden of over 3 billion approximately on the trade as terminals have started charging Rs 2500 per container for recording of weight and collecting around Rs 12.5 million against the clearance of roughly 5000 containers per day.

Keeping the said in view, Arshad urged the DRM to take stakeholders from trade and service sector on board to take any decision and requested to withdraw the said order, which was not only increasing cost of doing business and dual time for clearance but also hindering the process of ease of doing business.