Chattogram Bureau :
Chittagong Port Authority has decided to levy a four-fold storage fee if less than a container load (LCL) of cargo is not duly take
delivery in time. According to a notice issued by the port authority on Sunday (27 March), the decision will come into effect on April 11. Issued by the Office of the Director (Transport), the notification has been sent to all stakeholder organisations of the port.
Chittagong Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Farooq said, “If LCL cargo collection remains delayed, four times more storage rent will be effective from April 11.”
However, the decision will be reconsidered if the trend in collection returns to normal, he added.
If there is more than one importer’s goods in the same container, they are opened in the yard, stored in the port warehouse and importers take delivery of goods from there. This kind of shipment is called LCL Cargo. After taking the product out of the container and keeping it in the warehouse, a maximum of four days is considered ‘free time.’ Chargeable storage rent is normally Tk16.72 per ton per day for seven days after the four days of free time. From the 7th day to the 14th day, storage rent is Tk41.80 per ton and in the following days, it’s Tk66.88 a day. From April 11 on, importers will have to pay four times the current rate of storage rent detailed above. According to the port authority notice, although many LCL containers have been unpacked for a long time, various importers have not taken their goods, occupying space in the sheds.
This is delaying the unpacking of more LCL containers.
The situation will be monitored till April 10. If the quantity of such LCL cargo does not increase within that period, the store will be forced to impose quadruple storage rent after the four days of free time, the notice said.
