Ports auctioning process comes under scrutiny

An inter-party committee made up of representatives from the various agencies in the maritime sector, convened by the Trade Facilitation Division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), has called for a review of auctioning processes at the Tema and Takoradi Ports as part of efforts to decongest the ports.

The committee, has also recommended that the validity period of permits for reefer goods -- commonly called refrigerated goods -- should be extended from the current three months to six months to afford importers and exporters of refrigerated goods, such as frozen foods and pharmaceuticals, adequate time to process their respective documents and enable them to clear their goods from the port on time.

According to the committee’s report, the current laid-down auctioning procedures make it impossible to auction goods timeously at the ports -- leading to delays and accumulation of utility bills for plugged-in reefer containers.

The report also said the current three-month permit issued to shippers of refrigerated goods is inadequate vis-à-vis the period for sourcing, production and shipping of the cargo, and that the permit usually elapses before goods arrive at the ports for clearance.

This situation, coupled with unscrupulous practices on the part of some deviant importers, usually leads to the piling of refrigerated containers sitting plugged-in at the reefer terminal; when importers fail to clear their consignment, the containers remained connected to the electricity grid at the reefer terminal till it is marked for auctioning/destruction.

The committee was tasked to resolve an impasse between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the Shipowners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG) when the former issued a directive to start collecting electricity bills for plugged-in containers in advance.

According to the GPHA, the directive was to enable management deal with the accumulation of electricity bills the port incurs as a result of unclaimed reefer cargo and goods that are marked for destruction which remain connected to the electricity grid at the reefer terminals.

The committee was unable to come out with a clear-cut conclusion to the satisfaction of all stakeholders on the matter, saying it is a complex problem that needs continued deliberations from the various parties involved.

The report said despite the committee’s inability to come out with a concrete decision on the issue, the recommendations -- which include extension of the validity period for the permits and fast-tracking of the auctioning process when enforced -- will enable importers and exporters of reefer goods to renew their permits to clear their consignments once they land at the port, while Customs and port authorities can push auctionable reefer goods rapidly and efficiently.

“Importers can clear their consignments at the ports free of demurrage within seven days after landing; the goods attract demurrage after seven days, and subsequently it is marked ‘unclaimed cargo’ after 21 days and forwarded to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority for further action.

“When the goods get to Customs, samples are taken to the laboratory for testing to verify if they are still good for human consumption. Wholesome goods are placed on auction while the unwholesome goods are marked for destruction.

“For auctionable goods, an approval is sought from the Commissioner of Customs -- after which an auction notice is published in the respective communities for three days before the auction is held.

Bidders at the auction or the potential buyer is informed about other charges that he/she is supposed to pay aside duties.

“On the other hand, for unwholesome goods that are marked for destruction, the entire cost for disposing and destroying the goods are borne by the shipping agent,” the report said.