India's container shipping lines to approach Ministry on collection of light dues
The Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA) will approach the Shipping Ministry to sort out issues in the collection of Light Dues by the Customs Department in all the major ports, The Hindu Business Line reports.
Raising the issue at the 43rd session of SCOPE (Standing Committee on Promotion of Exports), CSLA said this had resulted in additional costs for shipping companies.
The Customs Department had wrongly interpreted The Light House Act, 1927, in two crucial areas. One — the charging of light dues on containers carried on decks of ships had resulted in additional costs.
Further, in one case, they had started charging light dues for every 30 days that a vessel stays in port.This is again patently wrong.
Additionally, light dues are chargeable on earning capacity, and empty containers cannot be considered under the earning capacity of a ship as they earn no freight and should not be charged.
In all such cases the Customs have given wrong interpretations of the Lighthouse Act, CSLA said.
The SCOPE (Shipping) meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Madhusudan Prasad, Additional Secretary, Commerce Department, directed the CSLA to meet officials of the Shipping Ministry as the light dues are fixed by the Ministry and collected by the Customs.
