KARACHI: In pursuance of Prime Minister’s recent decision to establish a regulatory authority for shipping sector, a meeting was held under the supervision of Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Syed Syedain Raza Zaidi wherein, amongst other discussions and decisions, it was particularly decided, in response to Zubair Motiwala’s demand that with effect from July 20th, 2024, all shipping companies will remain operational on every Saturday for a period of one month for issuance of Delivery Orders (DOs) to fully facilitate business community.
The decision to keep Shipping Companies operational on Saturdays for issuance of Delivery Orders will be reviewed after one month and could be extended further.
The meeting was attended by Chairman Businessmen Group Zubair Motiwala, Former President Karachi Chamber Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President FPCCI Saqib Fayyaz Magoon, Former Vice Presidents Nasir Mehmood and Younus Soomro, Patron-in-Chief Pakistan Ship Agents Association Mohmmad Rajpar, Senior Vice Chairman All Pakistan Shipping Association Raheel Moonis, Chairman Custom Association Maqbool Malik, General Secretary Custom Agents Association Mehmood ul Hassan, KPT GM(O) Rear Admiral Rizwan Ahmed, Collector Customs (Enforcement Ports) Omair Shafiq and other senior officials of KPT.
All participants of the meeting agreed that that a regulatory authority must be formed for shipping sector whereas the previously formulated Logistics Service Providers Regulatory Authority (LSPRA) Bill, which has been pending since 2013, should be revisited after consultation with all stakeholders in presence of Chairman KPT, hence, it was decided that LSPRA Bill will be revisited next week in another meeting to be chaired by Syed Syedain Raza Zaidi and upon reaching consensus, the draft LSPRA Bill will be forwarded for approval.
In response to KCCI suggestions pertaining to issuance of pre-arrival Delivery Orders as being done in case of GDs, it was also agreed by Collector Customs Preventives Umer Shafiq that this can be done and there was absolutely no issue in providing pre-arrival DO facility to business community. It was also assured that the decision, in this regard, will be taken in the next few days for issuance of pre-arrival DO.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been constantly demanding to regulate shipping sector since 2013 but the LSPRA Bill remains pending to date. With Prime Minister’s intervention, the business community was fairly optimistic that the much-awaited and desperately needed LSPRA Bill will soon become a reality to fully regulate shipping sector.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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