Surcharge by foreign
shipping companies which was accumulated in Terminal Handling Charges at
Tanjung Priok harbor was proposed to be eliminated as to utilization was
unclear and was only enjoyed by foreign liners operating in Indonesia. The
surcharge which was supposed to be borne by goods owners were classified as
illegal collection but until now still being treated as legal.
The Indonesian National
Shipping Association [INSA] supported lifting of surcharge provided the harbor
management charge handling cost directly to goods owners. Chairperson of INSA,
Camelia Hartoto, approved lifting of surcharge on Friday 123/51 after long
negotiation. Carmelite said that she agreed surcharge to be lifted provided
harbor managers bill CHC tariff directly to goods owners.
Besides, lifting of
surcharge would make shipping more efficient.
She remarked that
elimination of surcharge would eliminate perception that shipping industry was
enjoying benefit from increased cost. She underscored that so far all expenses
billed by liners were official procedure with receipt and not transacted illegally.
"If surcharge was lifted, I am sure the shipping industry would be more
efficient," Carmelite remarked.
She said further that if
there was any tariff increase at all it should be based on reasonable argument
and guarantee that the services rendered would be better. Ideally, the increase
must not burden customers and on the other hand also not disadvantageous to
harbor managers. All parties must realize that maximized harbor service should
be the starting point whether CHC tariff would be increased or not.
Meanwhile the Director of
National Maritime Institute [Namarin] Siswanto Rusdi stated that today owner of
goods at Tanjung Priok Harbor still had to pay for loading and unloading
charges of international containers known as THC. Namarin reported that for
containers measuring 20 ft in full container load [FCL] condition the cost was
USD 95 per box broken down as: CHC USD 83 and surcharge USD 12. For containers
of 40 feet THC the cost was USD 145 per box consisting of CHC USD 124 plus
surcharge of USD 21.
According to Siswanto,
national interest should come first and it was not right to protect foreign
shipping agencies who had been enjoying the surcharge. He said that if the
surcharge accumulated in THC was eliminated, increase of CHC of 10% as
supported by the association of service agencies at Tanjung Priok harbor would
not exceed the THC cost now in effect.
Siswanto said that the
process of terminal handling charges in Indonesian harbors caused performance
of logistics in this county low, compared to that of neighboring countries.
Index of Logistics performance was issued by the World Bank to evaluate
perceptions of international freight forwarders in doing business in a certain
country.
Based on Wold Bank's index
of Logistics Performance 2012, Indonesia was in 59th position among 115
countries in the world. The position was a progress against that in 2010 when
Indonesia was in 75th position but still below Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, South
Korea, China, and even Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Therefore if it must increase at all, increase of CHC cost must be focused on
the effort to smoothen loading and unloading process of containers. (SS)
Business New - May 28, 2014
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