KARACHI: Some of the shipping lines in connivance and conspiracy with PICT Ltd. and also some senior Customs officials are robbing the businessmen of Pakistan to the tune of Rs 15 billion per year. Importers have decided to lodge FIR against these shipping lines, their agents and PICT under PPC 407, 409, 420, 427, 506 and others so that these fraudsters are stopped to blackmail genuine importers by demanding ‘illegal’ additional charges.
As per details, these shipping lines along with their staff and agents lure the importers of Pakistan to ship their goods through them at low rates of USD 300 from China. They offer their services on the lowest amount of USD 300 from China to Karachi while rate for goods transported from Karachi to Lahore is above USD 1,000. Big question arises here if their cost for China-Pakistan shipping is more than USD 1,000 then why they are charging such low amount of USD 300 to take goods in China!! This makes their business suspicious.
Sources said innocent importers of Pakistan get trapped by seeing these low rates. When the goods are given to the shipping lines then they do not give back the goods to Pakistan importers, which is their legal duty. They start demanding additional very high demurrage and detention charges. Law under SRO 1220(I)/ 2015 explains that shipping companies cannot charge any demurrage and detention where specifically it is not agreed and also specifically not mentioned on the B/L (Bill of lading).
Sources further revealed that another section 14A of the Customs Act, 1969 says the port (like PICT port) cannot charge any demurrage or detention charges if Customs gives a certificate to importer called the ‘delay and detention certificate’. But despite this certificate, PICT illegally holds goods of importers and charges them heavy amounts as demurrage.
Importers told Customs Today that they give goods as trust (amaanat) to the shipping lines but these companies hold their ‘amaanat’ illegally and blackmail them to pay heavy amounts of charges and thus these shipping lines & agents make good wealth through criminal means.
A source from a shipping line told Customs Today that around Rs 15 billion is illegally earned by the shipping companies and the ports like PICT per year. Documents received by CT show active connivance of shipping companies like Evergreen line, KMTC and the agents of these shipping lines here in Pakistan like Greenpak shipping for Evergreen Line and United Marine Agencies for KMTC along with the connivance of PICT.
Sources said, in fact, the shipping lines should at least have a small office in Pakistan because they are taking thousands of containers from Pakistan importers but they do not have such office here rather only small agents are working in Pakistan who harass the importers by saying that ‘we are only agents and not parent shipping lines so if you have some problems then go to the parent shipping lines and ask for your containers’.
Importers appealed to the NAB and the FIA to take notice of this scam jointly planned and executed by shipping lines, their agents and PICT.
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