The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has issued a memorandum clarifying how storage charges for export cargoes are assessed.
The clarification was issued in view of concerns aired over the way storage charges for outbound shipments are arrived at, PPA officer-in-charge and assistant general manager for operations Raul Santos said in PPA Port Operations Memorandum Circular (POMC) No. 02-2016 signed June 20.
PPA said a storage charge, as defined in Memorandum Circular No. 03-95, is the assessed amount for articles, baggage, and containers stored in port premises, cargo sheds, and warehouses of the government. All cargoes that remain stored within or outside transit sheds, lay in an open yard storage that is not leased to a private entity in any government-owned port, or are stored in PPA warehouses beyond the free storage period are liable to storage charges, the port authority said.
Under POMC 02-2016, PPA said the four calendar days of free storage “shall commence on the day the cargo is officially received at the port.”
Cargoes remaining at the port beyond the four-day free storage period are subject to storage charges, the circular notes.
“The imposition of storage charges for export cargoes stops when the intended carrying vessel has berthed and the Master of the vessel has signified that the vessel is ready to receive cargoes for loading,” it explains.
If an export cargo is not loaded due to the fault of the consignee or shipping line, then storage charges will continue to be imposed, it adds.
Last March, PPA also formally clarified the process of assessing outbound domestic cargoes following queries on how the number of storage days for such shipments is computed. – Roumina Pablo
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