Though 180 million tonnes liquid bulk trade in India seems to be flourishing and growing at around 10 per cent annually, when it comes to trade volumes through Mumbai port, the picture looks bleak.
In a recently held meeting by All India Liquid Bulk Import Export Association (AILBIEA), higher octroi and stamp duty collections were found as main deterrents.
The President of AILBIEA, Mr Jayant Lapsia emphasised that rationalisation of tax structure and improvement in logistics needs to be looked at by the authorities concerned. He added, that the increasing trade volumes would in itself benefit Mumbai port and Customs.
Source of revenue
The response from the officials of municipal and taxation bodies was also mixed. Dr Jairaj Pathak, Municipal Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, stated that Octroi was a major source of revenue for the BMC to service the city effectively and if it were to be abolished an alternative would be required.
Putting the declining scenario for liquid bulk cargo in Mumbai in perspective, Mr Hari Om Tiwari, Chief Commissioner, Mumbai Customs said: "Traditionally Mumbai has been a hub for non-petro liquid cargo, however off late we see that vegetable oil, edible oil bulk imports are shifting from here mostly on account of high octroi and stamp duty, and capacity constraints at Mumbai port." He added, the department's last year revenues from Mumbai port have gone by 40 per cent and so have the imports.
Present on the occasion were Mr Harshvardhan Patil, Minister for Marketing, Governement of Maharashtra, Mr N. Dwivedi, Chief Commissioner, Central Excise and Service Tax, Mr Nadir B. Godrej, Managing Director, Godrej Industries Ltd and Mr S.K. Hazra, Managing Director, Aegis Logistics Ltd.
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