Electronic Cargo Tracking in Nepal
The Himalayan Times reports that The Ministry of Commerce is going to introduce an Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) soon. The ECT which is coming in use within this January is the making the delivery process to Nepal-bound cargoes via Indian transmit.It will manage the turnaround time of the shipping line containers which will reduce the high charges incurred by the Nepali importers
The turnaround time of shipping lines is 21-day. After unloading the goods in Nepal, containers must return within 21 days from Kolkata. But due to Indian Railway, congestion in dry port, and other reasons many traders fail to do so. Due to this, they ask for extra charges for missing the deadline.
Now this problem can be solved by the use of electronic cargo tracking. Traders can know where the container is at the present moment as the containers are being monitored.
MOC and Asian Development Bank have selected the vendor to install the electronic device on the cargoes bound for Nepal.
As said by the joint secretary at the MoC, Ravi Shanker Sainju, from this month, traders can take this service voluntarily for the first 90 days. But after 90 days, Nepal-bound containerized cargoes will mandatory it. To receive this service, traders have to first inform the Kolkata customs during the Customs Transit Declaration at the port customs office and pay $45 per container.
Cargoes with ETCS are free of locks which are placed on Nepal-bound cargoes by the port customs. They do so because the goods which are imported for Nepal are sold in India. Not only that but additional insurance in India are also not needed on the import of sensitive goods. Additionally, these containers would be monitor by the Kolkata port customs, consul general of Nepal in Kolkata and the border customs points of India and Nepal.
Further Sainju said that “We can expect that the cost and time of international trade will be minimised once the system comes into implementation in a full-fledged manner”.
After the implementation of this service, the Indian government will also allow the movement of Nepal-bound cargoes to the nearest railhead at Jogbani. ECTS that come through the Visakhapatnam port, will be enforced on the Nepal-bound cargoes.
