The Commerce Ministry said it would be holding talks with Indian authorities to simplify the clearance process at Kolkata Port, the main freight gateway for Nepal’s foreign trade.

The move follows reports of Nepali traders being forced to suffer shipment delays and pay hefty sums in demurrage charges due to Nepal-bound containers being held up at the port due to complex paperwork. More than 1,000 loaded containers were reported to be stuck at Kolkata Port as of two weeks ago. According to the ministry, 500 containers still remain to be cleared. 

Commerce Ministry Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Sainju, who is leading a Nepali team to the joint secretary level meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), said they would also be talking with Indian officials about preventing delays in clearance at Kolkata Port. 

“The talks will mainly focus on simplifying procedures for clearing goods imported from third countries,” said Sainju. 

The delegation left for India on Sunday. Heavy cargo traffic at Kolkata Port, low priority given to clearing Nepal-bound cargo by port officials, unwillingness of Nepali importers to use Vishakhapatnam Port and poor infrastructure on the Kolkata-Birgunj Dry Port route are among the main causes making life difficult for traders, the ministry said.

Although India has opened Visakhapatnam Port as an alternative sea gateway for Nepal, very few Nepali traders are using the new route due to lack of adequate infrastructure. The establishment of a Nepali Consulate General at Visakhapatnam Port to facilitate work related to cargo clearance is being mulled, but no work has been done from the Nepal side so far to set up the mission. 

Currently, Nepali traders need to obtain clearance from the Nepal Embassy in New Delhi for imported goods. “The ministry has planned to hold a multilateral meeting with Nepali traders and Concord, the sole container service provider, in Kathmandu soon,” 

Sainju said. 

As per the Nepal Freight Forwarders’ Association, around 600 Nepal-bound containers arrive at Kolkata Port daily. “However, only half of them are transferred to Birgunj Dry Port due to delays in clearance and negligence of the shipping company,” said Rajan Sharma, past president of the association. 

According to him, Concord ships Nepal-bound containers only three days per week, and now delivers 180 containers every week. The shipping company gives 21 days as turnaround time for Nepal-bound containers. If the cargo is not unloaded and the empty container returned by that time, importers have to pay $100 per container per day as demurrage charge. 

According to Sharma, a backlog of containers appears at Kolkata Port mainly during festivals when imports from third countries rise sharply.