Illegal ICD charges increasing business costs: BGMEA

The readymade garment exporters have alleged that landing charge levied by private inland container depots (ICD) for transporting goods from the factory to the ICD warehouses at Chattogram Port is illegal and increasing the business cost.

Last week, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) sent a letter to the Chattogram Port Authority demanding cancellation of the charge.

According to the organisation, the charge is supposed to be collected from the forwarders appointed by the importers, but in a competition to get business, it is being collected from the exporters.

However, leaders of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), an organisation of private ICD owners, say the BGMEA's claim is unreasonable. The existing ICD policy does not mention from whom this charge will be collected. Although a tariff committee was supposed to be formed to fix this fee, it has not been done in the last five years.

The capacity of the port has not increased in accordance with the increased volume of import and export in the country. As a result, most of the export container handling work is done through private ICDs.

It is learned that the 18 private IDCs of the country handle about 90% of the export products, including all the export-oriented RMG containers. They also handle about 20% of the imported goods.

The letter, sent by BGMEA President Faruque Hassan to the Chattogram Port Authority chairman on January 17, stated that the ICDs are illegally collecting carton unloading charges (Tk5,000 per truck of small cartons) and landing charges, which is outside the ICD policy, ultimately increasing the business cost. As a result, Bangladesh is losing its competitiveness globally.

Terming it a "hostage situation", the BGMEA president in his letter, urged the port authority to write letters to BICDA and forwarders to stop the illegal collection of money in the name of landing charges. He also demanded to suspend the circular issued by BICDA to collect the increased charges without any recommendation from the Tariff Committee.

Shahidullah Azim, vice president of BGMEA, told The Business Standard, "In other countries of the world, the responsibility of the exporters ends with delivering goods to the port."

Nurul Qayyum Khan, president of BICDA, told TBS, "The BGMEA's claim is unreasonable. The policy does not mention that the exporters will not pay this charge. Although a Tariff Committee is supposed to fix this charge, no committee has been formed yet."

Reviewing the 2016 ICD policy, it is found that the relevant section does not specify who would pay the charge.

The BICDA leaders said that they have set a rate of Tk3 per carton for taking goods from each container or truck to the ICD warehouse. They get Tk1,200-1,600 per truck for taking the export goods to the warehouse. 

In November last, they offered to increase the charge, but it has not yet taken effect.