Cars packed like sardines at Ctg port

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Unable to find space in Chittagong Port sheds for unloading cargo, a vessel loaded with 1,399 imported reconditioned vehicles worth over Tk 100 crore is likely to leave the port’s outer anchorage soon.

If it happens, it would be the first instance in the history of the country’s premier seaport that a vehicle-laden ship has to leave the port without unloading its cargo lacking permission to berth.

The roll-in-and-roll-out ship named MV Morning Bridge, a Panama flag carrier, has been waiting since September 3 at the outer anchorage to offload the vehicles.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) refused to allow the ship to berth at its jetty, saying all four sheds at the port were already overloaded with imported vehicles.

“All our sheds are now virtually packed with around 4,000 imported vehicles against their total capacity of 2,800. Presently, there is not even an inch of space to provide room for new vehicles unless and until the importers concerned clear our sheds by taking delivery of the vehicles,” said Captain Nazmul Alam, deputy conservator of CPA, yesterday afternoon.

Importers have not been taking delivery of their vehicles from the port sheds for nearly a month following a dispute with the customs and National Board of Revenue (NBR) centring depreciation of vehicles. As a result, the four sheds of the port became crammed with vehicles.

On the depreciation issue, Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicle Importers and Dealers Association (Barvida) lodged a writ petition before the High Court on September 3 against the customs and the NBR.

“Hearing our appeal, the court gave its verdict in favour of us and asked the customs and the NBR to follow the previous depreciation allowances,” said Abdul Hamid Sharif, secretary general of Barvida.

Sharif hoped that the current problem of non-delivery of vehicles from port sheds would be resolved soon. Alleging “mysterious” role of the government on the depreciation issue, Barvida leaders said the government is now allowing the import of six-year-old vehicles saying that the depreciation charges on the vehicles would not be as much as on the four-year-old vehicles.

“The government gives depreciation allowances for a number of reconditioned cars, while narrowing the scope for a number of others,” they alleged. The leaders said the government should count the age of a reconditioned car from the manufacturing date inscribed on vehicle chassis.

The office of director (traffic), in a notice issued Friday (September 5), asked the importers to take deliver of their vehicles from the port sheds by September 15 and warned that unless the importers oblige, they would impose a penalty rent four-times higher than usual on all vehicles in the sheds under section 160 of the CPA’s Regulations for Working of Chittagong Port (Cargo and Container) Act, 2001.

Sources said the Principal of NYK in Japan, the authority of MV Morning Bridge, was considering sending the ship with the vehicles to Singapore very shortly unless the ship gets berthing permission at Chittagong Port jetty.

When contacted, NYK’s local agent told The Daily Star yesterday that they have not received any final decision from Japan on the matter. “The problem regarding berthing permission may take another five or six days to resolve. Even though my principal did not make any final decision whether to move the ship to Singapore, it is being considered as an alternative step,” the agent said seeking anonymity.

The government early last month lifted the restriction on import of reconditioned vehicles older than four years and relaxed the ban on import of such vehicles with engines over 1649cc. The Commerce Ministry in a circular removed the restriction and allowed import of vehicles under six years old. It also allowed import of vehicles with any engine displacement.

In 2002, the then BNP government stopped import of vehicles over four years old citing environmental reasons and restricted import of reconditioned vehicles with engines over 1649cc. The Barvida had long been demanding lifting of these two restrictions.

The import of used vehicles, popularly known as reconditioned vehicles, has marked a sharp growth in recent time. “Even though prices of vehicles increased significantly in recent years, the demand was not affected at all. The market scenario shows an astonishing upward trend or craze to have a private car or vehicle of one’s own,” said Barvida leader Sharif.

Importers said the demand is increasing day-by-day because of a few factors including relaxed loan facilities under consumer credit scheme by banks, a leap in people’s buying capacity, growing need of different multi-national companies and mobile phone operators, individuals’ fascination for cars and the status symbol of executives of a number of corporate houses.

Traders expect total import of such vehicles to exceed 25,000 by the end of this year. In the previous two fiscal years, 2006-2007 and 2005-2006, around 18,000 and 13,000 vehicles were imported from Japan.

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