Ports continue with labour cess

Machines have replaced most operations in ports, especially those involving manual labour. However, some port trust boards continue to charge a high labour cess.

In some cases, the cost for a particular manual job is as high as 265 times the general rate and when the work can be done entirely by machines.

According to an official at the Visakhapatnam port, while most ports are either reducing or not imposing this levy, to stay ahead in the competition, Kolkata, Mumbai and Kochi continue with the practice.

The coastal cargo industry has stressed that the practice should be abolished as bringing down the cess amount will make little difference and ferrying commodities through ports will continue to be financially unviable.

Rail and road transport of goods are preferred, where such charges are not applicable. Earlier, labourers were

required at the time of loading and unloading of cargo, but automation has changed this. A former shipping secretary says manual labour was earlier unavoidable and charges were levied. Post automation, cess is used for pension payments. Kandla Port started the practice.

With more and more ports opting for mechanisation, there is no need for a labour cess, said Vishwas Udgirkar, partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India. Currently, all major ports, barring those at Kolkata, Mumbai and Kochi, are charging the levy only on bulk cargo and coal. India has 12 major ports.