PORT KLANG’S CONTAINER TARIFF HIKE DEFERRED
Postponement will give industry players time to adapt to SST, says Loke
THE second phase of the hike in Port Klang’s container tariffs will be deferred from September 1 to March 1 next year. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ministry had agreed to the deferment to give more time to port users and other industry players to adapt and stabilise their businesses following the introduction of the Sales and Services Tax (SST) on September 1.
“This deferment is an indication of the government’s commitment to ease the rakyat’s burden, besides taking into consideration the impact of the SST implementation on September 1,” he said yesterday.
The first phase of a 15 per cent increase was implemented on November 1, 2015. The second phase of another 15 per cent tariff increase had been scheduled to take effect on September 1.
Meanwhile, Port Klang Authority (PKA) said the staggered increase was to allow port users sufficient time to plan their business costing along the supply chain.
Loke said regardless of the deferment, PKA and the terminal operators — Northport and Westports — would continue their efforts to boost port service levels and performance by developing its facilities on a supplydriven basis.
Terminal operators say they will take steps to cater for the growing needs of the logistics industry and work with the government towards realising Port Klang’s vision to become Asia’s preferred logistics hub and elevate Malaysia’s standing as a maritime nation.