Customs clearance delays continue to weaken the Indian industry as they have extended from the earlier 15-20 days to 25-30 days, and in some cases, clearance is taking over a month, sources told. The industry and customs brokers are noticing the poor rollout of faceless assessments for the delays.
The impacted areas from customs clearance delays, have expanded. Earlier, automobiles, auto ancillary, electrical machinery, metals, chemicals, and medical equipment were impacted due to delay. However, now labor-intensive sectors and domestic manufacturing are also facing impacts, due to the delay in the release of goods.
According to export agencies, the delay is worsening the situation as this is the peak period of business ahead of the Christmas break. The export agencies have claimed that there are no containers available and freight rates have gone up substantially. They believe that there is an urgent need for the regulatory body to regulate the operations.
Moreover, exporters have said that the protest of farmers in Punjab has held up around 5,000 containers, which is creating a lot of issues for the sectors involved.
“There has been no change in the customs clearance situation. Rather, delays have now increased to over a month. Faceless assessment is a welcome step, but authorities are taking more time to address on-ground issues. Authorities are not taking any concrete action to address the backlog. Today even containers are not available and freight rates have shot up substantially. There is an urgent need for a regulatory agency to regulate the operations of shipping lines.
Sharad Kumar Saraf, President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) told that the situation at Indian ports has worsened.
“There has been no change in the customs clearance situation. Rather, delays have now increased to over a month. Faceless assessment is a welcome step, but authorities are taking more time to address on-ground issues. Authorities are not taking any concrete action to address the backlog. Today even containers are not available and freight rates have shot up substantially. There is an urgent need for a regulatory agency to regulate the operations of shipping lines.”