Logistics enterprises in Hai Phong "stooped” with container deposit fee

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At the conference with logistics enterprises in 2023 held by the Hai Phong Customs Department in May 2023, with the participation of more than 90 business representatives who are customs agents, transport services, warehouses, yards, ports, logistics services operators and shipping lines in Hai Phong city, many logistics enterprises raised problems and recommendations related to the operations of the shipping lines in the city.

They are, some container yards designated by shipping lines in Hai Phong city are still congested, require cumbersome procedures and lack of customer support unit and take a long time for order approval and for issuing/returning containers, causing traffic jams, and delaying delivery progress of enterprises.

Notably, the payment, and refund of container fees by shipping lines are causing a lot of frustration, such as: for container deposit fees, when businesses have completed the procedures for shipping lines. Still, the refund of container deposit fee takes a long time, in some cases one month.

This affects the finance and business operations of logistics enterprises, import-export enterprises, because the container deposit fee is very large, ranging from a few million to several tens of millions of VND/container depending on the type, in which the deposit fee for 40-foot refrigerator container is up to VND80 million per container.

The Tariff of container deposit of some shipping lines in Hai Phong area. Photo: provided by the Customs Agents and Seaport Transport Services Association (Hai Phong).

As for the repair fee for the container, logistics enterprises said that this fee is not appropriate because the shipping lines already know the condition of the container. In fact, many original containers are old, damaged or goods are loaded and packed which does not affect the quality of the container, but shipping lines still temporarily collect this fee at a rather high price, and the refund for the fee takes a long time.

In addition, some shipping lines use international bank accounts, so the payment must be made after one day to reach the account of the shipping line. Therefore, it takes one day for enterprises to receive the order to pick up the goods. On the other hand, some shipping lines charge a high penalty for late payment.

Even, some shipping lines stipulate that businesses can only make the payment when the ship has entered the port, while the payment time to get into the shipping line's account is usually three hours. This affects the delivery schedule, causing difficulties for businesses.

In order to create favorable conditions for logistics enterprises to recover and develop after the Covid-19 pandemic, and contribute to promoting the development of the logistics service industry, and building Hai Phong city to become a modern international logistics hub, Hai Phong Customs Department has promptly requested shipping lines to consider and solve problems and recommendations of logistics enterprises.

In addition, Hai Phong Customs Department has proposed Hai Phong City People's Committee, Vietnam Maritime Administration, Department of Transport and Department of Planning and Investment of Hai Phong and relevant authorities have solutions to remove problems and support logistics enterprises.

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, Deputy Head of the Customs Agents and Seaport Transport Services Association (Hai Phong) said that Hai Phong Customs Department held a dialogue conference to grasp the difficulties and problems of logistics enterprises and promptly sending documents to relevant parties, which is a very positive move in supporting enterprises in carrying out procedures related to import and export activities, freight forwarding; and contributing to protecting the legitimate interests of enterprises, customs brokers and logistics enterprises.

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In addition, the conference is the first time that customs clearance agency enterprises and transport units in the city can talk face-to-face with big shipping lines in Hai Phong.