At a time when a 6 member committee constituted under the Indian Ports Association (IPA) and headed by the Chairman of Cochin Port, Paul Antony, is working towards finding a solution to the alleged cargo handling irregularities at the country’s Major Ports, the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), on the instruction of the Shipping Ministry, has come forward with a suggestion to fix a minimum royalty of 10.5% on a proposed ceiling rate approved by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP).

 

The committee said that the ceiling on the handling fee for dry bulk cargo was INR 119.48 a tonne which could be levied by all the Major Ports.

 

There was a complaint that the private handling agents at ports were functioning illegally, which was a violation of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. Besides, these agents were not only charging shippers fees not approved by the government, they were also not sharing revenues with the ports.

 

The handling agents have to provide services such as lateral transportation of cargo between jetty and storage area, loading of unshipped cargo, cleaning of berths, jetties, wharves, and removal of foreign materials like boulders and coal from empty wagons.

 

It has recommended that normative tariffs should be fixed for stevedores and shore handling agents, as required under the provisions of the Major Port Trusts Act, with provisions for accommodating port-specific differences. This tariff will be a ceiling rate within which competition can be brought in among different agents.