Following objections raised by Kochin port users, Kochi Customs has postponed by three months its decision to implement the en-bloc movement of import containers from ICTT to a private container freight station. The stakeholders at the port alleged that the decision would involve an additional expenditure of Rs 5,000/teu for moving the boxes.
Customs move is to ensure faster evacuation of import containers from the terminal and to make use of the better facilities for customs procedure at the new CFS situated near Vallarpadam ICTT, the port officials maintained. When ICTT started functioning in February 2011, there was no CFS facility available at Vallarpadam which compelled the Customs authorities to carry out the procedure within the terminal.
All major terminals in the country adopt en-bloc movements to designated CFSs for clearance, the officials said. According to port users, since the terminal is working at low capacity utilisation, it would be ideal to continue the current procedure till the terminal attains a high volume throughput.
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