Demurrage-free clearance period extended to 124 hours, says president
The announcement was made during a meeting with business representatives, where concerns were raised about delays in clearing goods imported by air and sea.
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President Mohamed Muizzu on Wednesday announced that the clearance period for goods without demurrage fees will be increased from 80 hours to 124 hours, following complaints from former service providers over high demurrage charges.
The announcement was made during a meeting with business representatives, where concerns were raised about delays in clearing goods imported by air and sea.
President Muizzu said goods transported by air were not being cleared efficiently. He noted that Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has a single scanning machine and that Customs staffing levels are limited.
One service provider, Hossain, told the meeting that the growth of e-commerce requires changes in cargo handling capacity. He said his company paid MVR 1 million to MACL in damages last month alone and questioned how operations could be expanded or improved under current conditions.
He noted that businesses are currently given 80 hours to clear goods without incurring fees and said his company receives around five shipments a day. He added that there are about 12 companies providing similar services and that shipments are released in sequence, leading to backlogs.
“If two shipments are cleared today, three shipments remain pending,” he said, adding that costs increase as delays continue.
Hossain said he met with former MACL cargo officials a month earlier and was told that the concerns would be addressed. He said multiple complaints had been submitted to the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Homeland Security, the President’s Office and MACL.
He said Customs officials had stated there were no issues, while MACL had cited lack of space, equipment and staff as constraints to increasing clearance capacity.
Hossain said businesses were paying large sums in damages and in some cases resorting to loans to continue operations. He said the issues could be addressed through administrative changes and that former service providers had requested meetings with MACL and were willing to engage external consultants.
He also raised concerns about delays in clearing sea freight, citing repeated breakdowns of equipment, including rubber-tyred gantry cranes at Maldives Ports Limited.
Hossain said air cargo clearance fees were several times higher than international benchmarks, making it difficult for businesses to continue operations. He said he paid MVR 6,000 in damages for a single shipment on the day of the meeting and more than MVR 1 million in the previous month.
He said delays undermined the core function of cargo service providers, which is timely delivery, and called on authorities to work with businesses to resolve the issues.
Responding to the concerns, President Muizzu said the demurrage-free clearance period would be extended to 124 hours. He also said the current 18-hour goods clearance service would be expanded to a 24-hour operation.
“We will further review the relief measures at the airport and seaport,” the president said.
