|
Shippers (22-01-2010)
|
The Western India Shippers Association (WISA) has reacted sharply to the decision of the Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement to slap an emergency revenue charge from Friday. “Although it is claimed to be a voluntary policy guideline, at least three members of Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement operating out of India — APL, Hanjin and CMA CGM — have announced uniform rate of emergency revenue charge,” said a spokesman for WISA, emphasising that this was a fit case for investigation by the Competition Commission of India as more than one line announcing the same quantum of emergency revenue charge would amount to cartelisation.
Under the Competition Act of India, there are provisions for investigation into agreements signed abroad and considered anti-competitive for the Indian market, which is the case now.
Drawing attention to stimulus packages secured by some of the international shipping lines from their respective governments, the WISA statement pointed out that the lines were not only squaring up their losses but also making profit. Quoting from a statement by the Chairman of Asian Shippers Council, the association stated that nearly 25 surcharges had been imposed by the shipping lines subsequent to the global downturn, emergency revenue charge being the latest.
Beginning 2009 when the world economy was in the dumps, Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement members, it was alleged, imposed a number of levies such as general rate increase, bunker adjustment factor and currency adjustment factor. As a result, the shipping freight on the Asia-US trade nearly doubled in the past one year.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
|
|
|
|