Article - 48 Week 4 Some Uncanny Questions?

Article - 48 Week 4

Some Uncanny Questions?

China's Ports are simply world-class or do they set the benchmark for the world? Their container shipping is world class in terms of volume and quality. Their capacity in ports and docks are beyond class. Shanghai surpasses Singapore in the throughputs of container handling….Building the largest container ship … The largest and widest roads .. Highest amount of hard forex… Wide spread quality education .. .The list is endless…

Indian ports are almost primitive, despite privatization and BOTs … Congestions are frequent …. … Container shipping is insignificant and poor … Our port capacities are only known by the nuggets of knowledge and wisdom from our Shipping Minister's lips with quality un-ticked …. Container handling is struggling to catch up to 6 million TEUS - that is 1/5^th of only Shanghai's share …. India builds small & slow ships with costs that can dwarf the cost of building of a super large vessel in China … The roads are sub-standard … A perennial current account deficit …. Poor & uneven education system …. The list is again endless…

India grows at 9% and China probably same or a notch down? The odds are against us all along … What would happen to India if the odds are removed (after all they are doable and are held back by our governance deficit) ? Will there be any poor in India? Will India grow at 15% or even more?

For more & unedited versions, please visit & leave your opinions on, http://ourships.blogspot.com/

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Brgds

Capt Rath

Econship Marine

704:5:6 Maithili's Signets 7th Floor,
Sector 30A  Vashi Navi Mumbai 400 703.

Dir No : 6457 2316

Tel : +91 22 6457 2316 Fax: 27814294

Sales : 645723  18 to 19 Trade : 645723 29 to 31

Acc Adm Hr : 645723  20 to 23 IT : 6457 2324 

Export & Customer Service : 645723 25 to 27

www.econshipping.com + www.econarmy.blogspot.com

MSN : psrath@hotmail.com Skype : psrath

Article - 48 Week 4 Some Uncanny Questions?

Article - 48 Week 4

Some Uncanny Questions?

China's Ports are simply world-class or do they set the benchmark for the world? Their container shipping is world class in terms of volume and quality. Their capacity in ports and docks are beyond class. Shanghai surpasses Singapore in the throughputs of container handling….Building the largest container ship … The largest and widest roads .. Highest amount of hard forex… Wide spread quality education .. .The list is endless…

Indian ports are almost primitive, despite privatization and BOTs … Congestions are frequent …. … Container shipping is insignificant and poor … Our port capacities are only known by the nuggets of knowledge and wisdom from our Shipping Minister's lips with quality un-ticked …. Container handling is struggling to catch up to 6 million TEUS - that is 1/5^th of only Shanghai's share …. India builds small & slow ships with costs that can dwarf the cost of building of a super large vessel in China … The roads are sub-standard … A perennial current account deficit …. Poor & uneven education system …. The list is again endless…

India grows at 9% and China probably same or a notch down? The odds are against us all along … What would happen to India if the odds are removed (after all they are doable and are held back by our governance deficit) ? Will there be any poor in India? Will India grow at 15% or even more?

For more & unedited versions, please visit & leave your opinions on, http://ourships.blogspot.com/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brgds

Capt Rath

Econship Marine

704:5:6 Maithili's Signets 7th Floor,
Sector 30A  Vashi Navi Mumbai 400 703.

Dir No : 6457 2316

Tel : +91 22 6457 2316 Fax: 27814294

Sales : 645723  18 to 19 Trade : 645723 29 to 31

Acc Adm Hr : 645723  20 to 23 IT : 6457 2324 

Export & Customer Service : 645723 25 to 27

www.econshipping.com + www.econarmy.blogspot.com

MSN : psrath@hotmail.com Skype : psrath

No - 8 When A Mate Is Blissfuly Innocent Of His Responsibility

No - 8

When A Mate Is Blissfuly Innocent Of His Responsibility

"We have always done it that way!" This statement has turned from a mere excuse to a gigantic philosophy, corroding human creativity and progress on an unprecedented scale in our governance. The system just refuses to budge away from arcane inanities. Today we will discuss about one such document infamously known as "Mates Receipt".

In the olden days the Mate (The Chief Officer) used to supervise the loading of merchandise. Therefore, his authentication of the exact description of the merchandise being loaded was extremely important for the tax collectors. He had to make observation on any short fall or defect in quality, since the Master of the vessel was responsible for delivering exactly what he loaded. Today, the cargo is stuffed into a metal box far away from the ship and sealed by the Customs personnel. The event is endorsed on the shipping bill. The Mate is blissfully unaware of what is inside  the metal box. Even the shipping line's agent is unaware, just declaring on his BL as "Said To Contain". 

In such a situation how can a Mate endorse what is inside a container? But in India, Mate's Receipt is needed by the Customs Department. It is understandably signed by the Agent on behalf of the Mate of the vessel. Needless to say that this document is signed blindly by the Agent as a ritual, knowing fully well that he has no way of ever finding out the veracity of the contents, unless they turn out to be contrabands like drugs or guns and happen to be discovered. The chances of getting discovered in India is very slim, unless someone from within the mafia sings. Alas! In that case the agent would be forced to own up full responsibility, because he had signed the Mate's Receipts. And we have hardly found any Customs Official (responsible for checking the contents and sealing the container) being penalized on this count. Doesn't this system stink of perpetration of the tyranny of the colonial era? And who said we live in a free country?

For more & unedited versions, please visit & leave your opinions on, http://ourships.blogspot.com/

Brgds

Capt Rath

Econship Marine

704:5:6 Maithili's Signets 7th Floor,
Sector 30A  Vashi Navi Mumbai 400 703.

Dir No : 6457 2316

Tel : +91 22 6457 2316 Fax: 27814294

Sales : 645723  18 to 19 Trade : 645723 29 to 31

Acc Adm Hr : 645723  20 to 23 IT : 6457 2324 

Export & Customer Service : 645723 25 to 27

www.econshipping.com + www.econarmy.blogspot.com

MSN : psrath@hotmail.com Skype : psrath

Article - 47 Week 3 Port Congestions And Who Pays The Price?

Article - 47 Week 3

Port Congestions And Who Pays The Price?

Port congestions can surprise us at any time. No need to seek justifications in the monsoons, a rogue Union holding the trade to ransom, a transport strike, bad roads, an arthritic reach-stacker or crane huffing away to a coma, a latest TAMP ruling, and many such stale stories. When things are OK, all these appear to disappear. Not for very long. From CCTL, GTI, NSICT, GTI, JNPT, Kolkata or Haldia or even PSA Sical in Tuticorin, all give us shock therapies from time to time. 

These are on expected lines, considering our rickety poor governance and infrastructure. Just like road jams, we can expect Terminal jams. However, it is interesting to note that the parties who are made to pay the price have no role to play in the creation of this mess and the parties who have a role to play in cooking up this mess, end up benefitting from the situation - unduly and ghastly ! 

The real sufferers are the exporters, importers, and the shipping lines. The shipments get delayed and can go into order cancellations. Some do not reach the factory when you need them. Some don't reach the market, when it is acutely needed. Some cargo even deteriorate. The shipping lines are held like hostages. The equipments get prisoned in ports. Ships wait and wait. Some times, they put emergency surcharges on the cargo to recover their costs much to the disdain of the clients and the trade. The transporters too lose employment for the period and bide for their time to make good.

The ports have nothing to lose. They keep collecting huge amount of storage charges from the cargo, stuck in their custody. Since the scale and slab of the storage charges spiral upwards to the sky with passing of days : the longer the congestion, the merrier they are. The Port Authorities stay nonchalant on the face of these challenges, simply because they literally behave like landlords. 

We need to have a Policy where the trouble maker gets punished for the extra costs and the innocents are kept insulated from damages - which is not their making. The trouble is that in most of the cases there is no single agent responsible for the mess and apportioning the blame is a tough ask. And we have the excuse of bad infrastructure and governance to cover our skins so eloquently. 

In such a complex situation, it is better to shift the pain from the end-user to the Terminal Management. At least they have the self-interest and the voice-box decibels to solve the problems quickly. The exporters and importers are prisoners to so many masters including the nuances of time aberration on commodities or factories, where futures are being traded. The prisoners have neither the voice nor the power to solve the congestion problems, even when they are bled to death. Let's have a fair system in place.

For more & unedited versions, please visit & leave your opinions on, http://ourships.blogspot.com/

________________________________________________________________

Brgds

Capt Rath

Econship Marine

704:5:6 Maithili's Signets 7th Floor,
Sector 30A  Vashi Navi Mumbai 400 703.

Dir No : 6457 2316

Tel : +91 22 6457 2316 Fax: 27814294

Sales : 645723  18 to 19 Trade : 645723 29 to 31

Acc Adm Hr : 645723  20 to 23 IT : 6457 2324 

Export & Customer Service : 645723 25 to 27

www.econshipping.com + www.econarmy.blogspot.com

MSN : psrath@hotmail.com Skype : psrath

No - 7 Governance Soup Menu

No - 7

Governance Soup Menu

Birth Certificate ` 500 : Ration Card @ `1000 ~ ` 3000 : Passport @ `1500 ~ ` 3000 : Shops & Establishment License  ` 3500 ~ ` 5000 & Annual collection of bribery ` 1000 ~ ` 2000 : Driving License ` 1000 ~ ` 1500 : Service Tax Registration * ` 3000 to ` 10000 : Steamer Agency License ` 10000 ~ ` 80000* : Import Clearance Of Your Personal Effects ` 10000 ~ ` 30000 : Jumping a half-hidden red-light ` 50 ~ ` 100 : Jumping a fully visible red-light ` 100 ~ ` 300 : Police Verification For Passport Issuance ` 1000 ~ ` 2000 : Property Registration ` 10000 ~ ` 15000 : Excise Annual Returns - Monthly ` 3000* & Yearly ` 10000* Registration with Central Excise ` 25000 : Conveyance Deeds or Khata Transfers ` 15000 ~ ` 25000* : Transfer of owner in RC Book ` 1500 ~ ` 3000* : BMC Octroi ** Depends on size and value : Filing of FIR ` 500* : Duty Assessment on Undervalued Cargo at JNP ` 2000000* : Caste Certificate ` 4000 : Clearing Unaccompanied Personal Effects From Airport Customs ` 3400 : Jumped Signal ` 100 : Bandra Reclamation Moral Police ` 600 ~ ` 5000 : Air India Counter Mumbai For Passing Over Sized Baggage ` 2000 : Out Of State Vehicle Caught In Mumbai Roads ` 300 :  Caught Without Seat Belts ` 500 : VAT Registration ` 1500 ~ ` 5000 : Service Tax Registration New ` 2500 ~ ` 5000 : For Passing In The Examination of MCI (Medical Council Of India) ` 400000 : Death Certificate : ` 600

• Most of the above data is from real people with real recent experiences in www.ipaidabribe.com
• Some are from our real life experiences. The amounts do vary from place to place in India. Some locations are more notorious than others.

For more & unedited versions, please visit & leave your opinions on, http://ourships.blogspot.com/

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Article - 46 Week 2 A Ghost In Our Living Room:

Article - 46 Week 2

A Ghost In Our Living Room:

William Bentinck wanted to cut costs of administration and authored the system of cheap English-knowing Babus to be the unkempt bridge to the natives. In turn the Babus turned their unique position to exploit the natives for their own self interests and also to please their English bosses. Macaulay insisted upon creating brown-sahibs to manage higher posts and believed that the brown sahibs will be more English than the English and would look down upon the barbarian natives. The brown-sahibs were designed to be Indian in blood & colour, while extremely English in their attitudes, thoughts, and loyalty. And they were meant to be a class apart from the pan chewing Babus who spoke in an odd mix of chewed up English & the vernaculars.

Bentinck must be having a hearty laugh from upstairs (If that is the place God gave him), while looking at our innumerable Babus - doing exactly what he set out to do. Macaulay must be wriggling with delight to watch our mandarins, fighting the growth of the native with all their might - from Policy Liberalisation to blocking files.

It is just unthinkable as to how and why we still hold on to the exploitative and repressive bureaucratic system. The system that was used to enslave & subjugate us, does not shame us any more, even when it undermines our progress, image, and pride as an independent nation with a rich cultural heritage and a hyper powered future! The IAS, IPS, IRS,(a grotesque variant of ICS), Bade babus, Chote babus, the peons, the hawaldars, and many such terminologies are shameful reminders of our enslaved past. And the system still thrives! Till such a repugnant system thrives, we can not call it a true democracy. Democracy also means having independent and fair institutions for the votaries. 

Rote acts and vomiting out the garbage in the tests on the corridors of JNU continues to produce handfuls of IAS & IPS recruits. I do not claim that they are any less talented or intelligent, just because they were forced to internalise texts and phrases to qualify. But is this an appropriate system of recruitment for the future mandarins of the nation? Do memory power, IQ, and spatial talents alone constitute the DNA of an administrator? 

If things don't move in India, it is ourselves to blame. While we shout out loud on corruption and other social issues, we keep mum on our administrative reforms. And if we don't fix this problem on time, we shall have a price to pay.

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Re: Your grievance bearing no. CBOEC/E/2010/00553

Dear Sir

Thank you. I do not like to press any charge on any individual.

The cargo was cleared, despite a lot of time and cost.

The problem is that the system has become rotten to such a degree that we can no more see which part is bad. 

Sloth, lethargy, and trading of man made discretions in Customs Dept all over the country is coming to the threshold of tolerance.

It is not about the people. It is about the system that does not trust its own people. 

No body leaves an opportunity to extract corruption to move things.

To tell you the truth, I'm paying bribes every day along with millions of Indians in this nation. And I am ready to be brought to justice for that.

But do I have a real choice? Even after paying bribes, if a shipment went throughout such delays and costs, where is the question of getting your genuine things done without paying?

Let us not delude ourselves from the ground realities.

The issue is - can we do business with customs without paying bribes? The answer is a big 'NO'. Impossible!

I feel sorry as much for the common Indian as for our people working in Customs Depts. 

Do they really have any other rational and moral way of conducting themselves within a twisted system, designed primarily by the East India Company to exploit the natives?

Common man is corrupt because he pays bribes. The customs man is corrupt because he takes bribes to extricate economic rent over his preserved discretion.

And what about the system that compels and labels us as corrupt? 

Why not change the system of administration, so that no one dare call us corrupt!

I know I can not do much, even with a weapon like RTI, except making a few scratches here and there. 

Even your good office with good intent can do little to liberate us from this systemic failure.

On 07-Jan-2011, at 5:42 PM, Chief Commissioner Customs, Ahmedabad wrote:

Dear Capt. P. S. Rath,

                                The receipt of your grievance bearing no. CBOEC/E/2010/00553 is acknowledged. All the facts leading to your grievance have been verified. It may be noticed that the goods had been cleared on the same date of the grievance being registered i.e. 26.11.2010. Therefore, no action had been initiated for clearance of the same. The reasons leading to the complications leading to filing of a grievance from your end had been verified. The outcome of the same is narrated below for your information.

                                For the allegations the below explains the issue.

·         The delay occurred on account of the expiry of permission filed by the agent. The IGM was filed on 11.08.2010. Amendment of place of delivery was sought on 27.09.2010 and was allowed on the same day. D.G. Shipping had allowed restoration of cargo to its original destination (Nhava Sheva) on the foreign flag vessel. This permission was valid till 31.08.2010 and then extended upto 10.09.2010. The request for transhipment was made only on 28.09.2010 by M/s. Parekh Marine Agencies P. Ltd. It  could be noticed that the date of filing the request itself was on a date very much after the expiry of permission. Hence, the transhipment could not be allowed in view of the time limit indicated in D. G. Shipping's letter.

·         The goods were allowed for transhipment on the same day when M/s. Econship Marine P. Ltd., requested for transhipment by an Indian flag vessel.

·         For the allegation regarding transhipment not allowed in a vessel not bearing Indian flag, it may seen that the transhipment was not possible to be allowed in view of the D.G. shipping orders dtd. 16.08.2010 and 28.09.2010. M/s. D.G. Shipping had allowed restoration of cargo to its original destination using the scheduled liner services of the foreign flag vessel.

·         As regards the accusation of paying bribe of Rs.14,000/- to Shri Narasimha Rao, Asstt. Commissioner through your agent Mr. Madhav Sambad, the allegation has been proved to be false as Mr. Madhav has himself denied such payment and further stated that Shri Rao had not made any such demand.

                                We also take this opportunity to inform you that no purposeful delay is practised in clearances of the gateway ports which are always overburdened with cargo load.

Yours sincerely,

 

(Partha Roychowdhury)

Additional Commissioner

Office of the Chief Commissioner

Customs, Gujarat Zone.