Container scanning fee barred

KARACHI: The government has directed the port authorities to immediately bar all the private terminals from charging unjustified container scanning fees for services not even provided, adding to the cost of doing business, The News learnt on Wednesday.

Private container terminals, operating at Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and Karachi Port Trust (KPT), are in the practice of levying scanning charges at $5 on every container handled by them though only 1-1.5 percent of them actually undergo scanning.

Around 7,500 containers/day are processed (both import and export) at these two ports. “The levy of such charges without use of scanning services is an undue burden on the local businesses and increases the cost of doing business and is therefore detrimental to the national economy,” Ministry of Maritime Affairs noted in a letter to PQA and KPT.