According to the amended advisory on additional charges to CFS Operators, released by Adani Hazira Port Limited (AHPL), the existing CFSs are exempted from the additional charges, while the new and upcoming CFSs are supposed to pay these charges to clear their containers. Industry sources feel that this is more of a discriminative pricing policy rather than providing a level playing field to all the players.
It may be noted that as per the original advisory released in August 2023, for every 20-foot and 40-foot container handled by the AHPL, all CFS operators should pay Rs.2500 and Rs.4000 respectively. However, the Port faced opposition from the existing CFSs regarding these charges and had to release an amended advisory on 15th September exempting them from these charges as mentioned above.
The CFSs that are exempted from these charges include Hind Terminal, Seabird and Kribhco – all the three of which are running their terminals in Hazira for quite some time. Two new CFSs have obtained Customs Clearance recently. According to sources, one among the two new CFSs is operated by a subsidiary of Maersk, one of the largest container shipping lines in the world, and has already commenced operations. It is learnt from reliable sources that they too are not required to pay the additional charges. The 2nd CFS has obtained its final approval from the Customs and is ready to start operations, but are being denied issuance of the Port code, unless they agree to pay the additional charges.
Subsequent to the amended advisory, which was released on 15th September, various segments of the trade feel that the additional charges are not in the best interests of the trade. Some claim that it is more of discriminative pricing – where a section of the CFS operators are not being charged at all, while another section is forced to pay these charges. “Charging different rates from different people in the same place is not fair and amounts to discriminative pricing and is not in the best interests of EXIM trade,” said an industry veteran who did not want to be named.
As the industry observers and stakeholders closely monitor its impact on the competitiveness of the CFS sector, it remains to be seen how this policy will evolve and whether it will be subjected to further modifications in response to industry feedback and concerns.
