Huge empty containers, are lying on the Chittagong port yards. Chittagong Customs House is going to expedite the auction of abandoned cargoes with a view to clear the congestions in port yards.
The importers need to take delivery of their consignments within 30 days of the goods being unloaded from the ships. Regular auctions were not held leading to piling up of a huge number of containers at the port yards, hampering the operational activities of the country’s premier seaport If the importer fails to receive the consignments within the specific period, the port authority hands over the import documents to the customs authority, who then issues a notice to the importers. If the importer does not take delivery within 15 days of the notice, the goods will be auctioned accordingly. .
Following acute vessel and container congestion and upon request from port users, the Chittagong Port Authority last month started shifting the containers to a newly built yard. But the transfer is going at a snail’s pace.
In the last few weeks, only 500 TEUs of containers were shifted, according to sources. Importers tend to not take delivery of the imported goods if they find the market price to be less than the import costs, according to sources in the port and the customs house.
