October 27, 2001	Saturday	Shaba'an 9, 1422

KARACHI, Oct 26: US customs is levying additional charges on account of expenses incurred on detailed inspection of consignments originating from Pakistan.

Exporters see the additional charges as yet another negative development that would burden Pakistan’s exports with more costs.

The US customs, under the fear of anthrax, have started detaining consignments from Pakistan for detailed examination.

The authorities have also directed that all shipments originating from Pakistan, regardless of the port destination, be sent to New York for detailed inspection.

In the latest development, which is going to prove as a last straw on the back of a camel for the Pakistani exports, the US customs has informed the shippers about delays in clearance of cargo and additional charges, says a leading exporter.

Soon after Sept 11, most of the world underwriters imposed ‘war risk charges’ on ships operating in the region. As a corollary insurance charges on cargoes also increased. Further, shipping companies also enhanced their freight charges from Oct 1.

The US customs, in a communication sent to local offices of shipping lines, has pointed out that the customs reserves the right to hold cargo and conduct examination any time between vessel arrival and trucker pick-up regardless of freight release.

Besides, owing to delays in clearance of cargo, the customs could incur additional charges during this period which would require payment before cargo was handed over.

The US customs are going to undertake different nature of examinations of cargo but it is expected that it would be restricted to review of documents, CET examination, pop and tap examination and VEV/VACCS examination.

The exporter and his shipping agent have been advised by the US customs to consult their freight broker/agent before sending work order to the trucker so that no longer than the time required for examination of cargo was wasted. It has been further advised that broker/agent should closely monitor complete clearance of each container, until full carrier was released and trucker picked up containers.

The US customs did not announce at what rate they would charge the inspection of cargo, but quietly shifted the cost burden on the exporters, the chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association Mohammad Kamran Chandna told Dawn here on Friday.

He said this would mean that the US customs inspection charges could run into any amount, and an exporter during this period would be in a quandary as to what charges ultimately he would have to pay.

Even if these charges, Kamran said, were paid by the US importer it would be finally add up into the cost of imports, which would make Pakistani goods costlier and uncompetitive in the US market.