kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Businesses would like to heed government's call to lower prices for goods and services but are being impeded by inefficiency and additional costs from the Customs and Excise Division (C&E), Port Authority of T&T and Plipdeco.
President of the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, Liaquat Ali said demurrage, rental charges and overtime payment to C&E affect the final cost of products for consumers.
Ali, who spoke at a seminar on minimising cost to importers, exporters and manufacturers in Couva, said although Government had negotiated several international trade treaties that give local manufacturers a chance in the global market, most of their raw materials are imported. With the additional charges affecting their final prices, he said, they are not getting a fair chance to sell their products at competitive prices.
"The operating costs of manufacturers also go up and we as business people have no choice but to pass them on to the consumer. While we may want to heed the call of the Government to lower prices, we are often constrained by factors beyond our control.
"In addition, we have to compete with goods that enter the country illegally. We are all aware of the cheap and substandard goods which find their way into the local market, including pharmaceuticals. We need protection from these unscrupulous traders," Ali said.
While he acknowledged there are problems at the port, vice-president of Plipdeco Harold Ragbir said 92,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo were moved through the facility in 2014, which represented an improvement from previous years. He called on businesses to use non-peak hours at the port and direct delivery to reduce rental and demurrage costs. He also advised hat that shipping documents be prepared and delivered on time.
President of the Customs Clerk and Brokers Association Nicholas Rostant said while the business community should take advantage of the available time at the port, overtime paymenst for customs officers should be shifted to port management, who would then make the necessary arrangements with the C&E.
He there was need for a more fair way to import and export good. He said when cargo arrived at the port on the Friday before Carnival, businesses could not access their goods until Ash Wednesday, which meant they had to pay demurrage and rental cost through no fault of their own.
Acting Deputy Comptroller of Customs Glen Singh said changes are being made to the C&E operations and asked businesses to bear with them for a while.