The Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) has, in a communiqué to industry and exim trade bodies, sought their support in providing advance/ immediate payment to Custom Brokers for cost of clearance, including the reimbursement charges which are paid to various stakeholders. It also called for reimbursement of additional charges which are incurred by Custom Brokers while carrying out import/export clearance.
The communiqué emphasised that considering the current pandemic / lockdown situation (of over six weeks) in the country, there has been significant cost escalations in the process of Customs clearance of export/import goods.
FFFAI stressed that in the past more than one month, Custom Brokers have risked their lives to be at the forefront to undertake the clearance of import/export cargo at Customs locations across the country despite the many challenges. Some of the challenges it highlighted were:
- Curtailed operation by importer/ exporter, leading to factories and warehouses being shut.
- Availability of transport trucks in less numbers at increased cost.
- Non-availability of public transportation such as trains, buses, auto rickshaws, taxis, metro, etc. for Custom Broker staff to commute. Even two-wheelers are not permitted by local police.
- Many Shipping Lines, Airlines, Freight Forwarders, NVOCCs are operating only partially, resulting in delay in issuance of delivery orders and availability of documents.
- Non-availability of basic amenities for Custom Brokers and staff to work in Customs.
- Major Custodians of cargo like ports, port terminals, air cargo terminals, CFSs, ICDs, Land Custom Stations, etc. have very less manpower and equipment to carry out cargo handling operations. This had led to non-traceability of containers and packages, delay in flight segregation, delay in container grounding movement for examination and delivery.
These factors have resulted in tremendous increase in cost of operations and delay in clearance
