Transit of Indian goods: Last trial runs next week

The last two trial runs aimed at the transit of Indian goods between Kolkata and north-eastern states of the country using Chattogram port in Bangladesh will take place next week.

A Bangladeshi flagged vessel called MV Trans Samudera, which is now en route to Kolkata, is scheduled to leave the Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port on Sunday carrying a container loaded with 25 tonnes of TMT bar from Tata Steel.

The vessel is expected to return to Chattogram port within 3-4 days of its departure from Kolkata. After the container is unloaded, the goods will be sent to the Indian state of Assam by road through the Sheola land port in Sylhet.

A trial of the return route will then be conducted using a container loaded with tea from India's Meghalaya that will enter Bangladesh through Tamabil land port. It will then be loaded onto the same vessel at Chattogram port and sent to Kolkata.

India is eager to begin regular transits between Kolkata and key cities in its northeastern states through ports in Bangladesh as it would cut the 1,200-kilometre travel distance by nearly half.

In a letter to the foreign affairs and shipping ministries of Bangladesh on August 27, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka sought necessary support to ensure that the trial runs go smoothly.

The request included arranging priority berthing for Indian vessels as well as adequate handling and clearing services for their containers at Chattogram port and the Tamabil and Sheola land customs stations.

Mohammad Shahjahan, chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), said a jetty of the New Mooring Container Terminal having the necessary handling equipment is fully ready to handle the coastal vessels under this trial run.

CHARGES AND FEES

According to a notification from the National Board of Revenue, Indian traders will have to pay Tk 30 as a document-processing fee against each shipment.

In addition, they will have to count a trans-shipment fee of Tk 20 per tonne, Tk 100 per tonne as a security charge, escort charge of Tk 50 per tonne, a miscellaneous administrative charge of Tk 100 per tonne, container-scanning fee of Tk 254 per unit, and electric lock-and-seal fee as per the rules.

In total, the charges and fees stand at Tk 554 per tonne. Besides, additional fees will be deducted in the case of using electric locks and keys on containers, said an official of the Chattogram Customs House.

HOW THINGS STARTED

On October 25, 2018, the two sides signed an "Agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for Movement of Goods to and from India" while a Standard Operating Procedure (for operationalising the agreement) was inked on October 5, 2019.

The first trial run under the deal took place in July 2020, when four containers of iron rods and pulses were transported from Kolkata to Tripura and Assam using Chattogram port and Akhaura land port.

However, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed plans for further trial runs.

Following the 13th India-Bangladesh Joint Group of Customs meeting held in March this year, the two countries agreed to operate four more trial runs.

Out of these four, two trial runs were held last month through Mongla port to transit one container of iron pipes to Meghalaya using the Tamabil-Dawki route and another to Assam through the Bibir Bazar and Srimantapur land customs stations.