Quota reform protests: Govt likely to withdraw 7-days’ port demurrage charges

The government is likely to withdraw port demurrage charges racked up during the first seven days of the internet outage, business leaders were assured during a meeting today (28 July) with State Minister for the Ministry of Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury.

The Ministry of Shipping is scheduled to issue a gazette on this issue by tomorrow (Sunday), meeting sources said.

The nation’s gateways for international trade were thrown into disarray last week due to a nationwide internet outage that halted the loading and unloading of goods, according to apparel industry leaders.

BGMEA President SM Mannan Kochi led a six-member team, including its First Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam, Senior Vice President Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, and Vice President Rakibul Alam Chowdhury.

Talking with The Business Standard after the meeting, Rakibul Alam Chowdhury said, “The government has taken a policy decision to withdraw seven days of port demurrage charges to give breathing space for international trade.”

Port demurrage is a charge payable on failure to unload imported goods carrying containers within the time agreed upon. The fine is imposed for not being able to take delivery within six days after a container reaches a particular port.

BGMEA Director Ashikur Rahman Tuhin said the state minister informed them that a gazette notification would be issued by tomorrow (Sunday).

BGMEA First Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam said the delay was out of the control of exporters or importers, and considering that, the government decided to withdraw port demurrage charges for seven days.

In response to a question, he also added that there is no decision yet about those who have already paid their port demurrage charges during the release of their goods.

Syed Nazrul Islam noted that the country does not have any mechanism to refund any fees once deposited into the government exchequer.

Earlier, leading trade bodies, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), had requested waiving these charges.

However, the port authority did not agree and instead instructed importers to apply for waivers individually.

Businesses argue this process is lengthy and will lead to higher costs due to extended container demurrage times.

The disruption has already caused a significant backlog, with the number of containers rising to 41,000 TEUs, up from the usual 30,000 TEUs.

This congestion threatens to increase delays and inflate costs further, leaving businesses struggling to manage the fallout from an issue beyond their control.

Also, this added cost will be passed on to consumers, which will, in turn, drive up inflation, currently nearing double-digit levels.