Importers with containers that have stayed for more than 100 days at the port of Mombasa have only five weeks to remove them before Kenya Ports Authority destroys them in an effort to ease congestion.
KPA said on Thursday that the containers would be destroyed if the owners do not collect them by the beginning of March when a storage-charge waiver announced yesterday expires.
Importers with containers that have stayed for more than 100 days at the port of Mombasa have only five weeks to remove them before Kenya Ports Authority destroys them in an effort to ease congestion.
KPA said on Thursday that the containers would be destroyed if the owners do not collect them by the beginning of March when a storage-charge waiver announced yesterday expires.
"KPA will destroy any uncollected long-stay containers at the port after the expiry of the notice period," said KPA managing director Gichiri Ndua in a notice, adding that some containers had stayed at the port for more than 1000 days, nearly three years.
He said the owners should apply to KPA for the waiver, whose window closes on March 1, 2012.
The Kenya Revenue Authority, however, said it would not grant a general waiver on warehousing for overstayed cargo because the law only allows waivers on application by importers explaining the reasons for delay.
"Customs Warehouse Rent (CWR) is part of government revenue. Unless the law is changed, we cannot give a general waiver," exiting KRA commissioner general Michael Waweru told port stakeholders after the launch of a Rapid Results Initiative aimed at decongesting the port within 100 days.
Custom procedures are regulated through the East Africa Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA). Importers said failure to waive the warehouse charges – 30 US cents per cubic metre per day – would render the concession on storage fees meaningless.
"Without waiving the CWR, most of those containers that have been lying at the port for up to 5 years will be destroyed," George Williams, a representative of Uganda cargo owners said.
Transport Permanent secretary Cyrus Njiru said the containers to be destroyed would be posted on the KPA website.
Importers are allowed a free storage period of 5 days for domestic cargo and 11 days for transit cargo. Thereafter the containers attract storage charges of $25 and $37 per day for the 20ft and 40ft containers respectively for up to 21 working days in case of local cargo.
KRA then takes custody of the cargo and it begins to attract CWR. A notice of 30 days is given before the cargo is auctioned.
The authority has identified 466 export containers, 737 domestic import containers and 294 transit export containers that have been lying at the port of Mombasa for a period ranging between 100 and 1,000 days.
The port is plagued with acute congestion which government cargo clearance agencies blame on delays by importers and clearing agents to collect their containers in good time.
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