10,000 tons steel re-rollable scrap detained at port

Consignments of around 10,000 tons steel re-rollable scrap, worth $3.5 million, have been detained by customs officials at Karachi Port due to confusion over import duty.
Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that about 160 containers having around 10,000 tons re-rollable steel scrap were stuck up at Karachi port for the last 15 days as customs officials have asked the importers to pay duties under specific heads.
However, the importers have refused to pay. They say the imported material falls under specific head of steel re-rollable scrap, which has 'zero-rated duty'. An importer of 2,000 tons steel re-rollable scrap said: "The customs officials have detained the consignment due to which we are incurring losses in the shape of demurrage. We (importers) have been asked either to pay specific duties, or give post-dated cheque to get the detained consignments cleared."
Trade sources said that steel re-rollable scrap, imported mainly from Dubai and Ukraine, was booked at an average price of $300 per ton. "Despite the fact that all the consignments have specific HS code and PCT code, which tells detailed description of steel re-rollable scrap, the customs officials are reluctant to release the consignments."
Underlining the government's definition laid down by Central Board of Revenue (CBR) regarding steel re-rollable scrap, specified to avoid misinterpretation, one importer said, "The scrap having width not exceeding 1000 mm, with thickness of 6 mm and above and a length exceeding 2.5 metres, consisting of mill rejects and crop ends of ingots, billets, slabs, blooms and including cutting of sheets and plates, pipes and bars whether in pieces or in rolled strips, cutting of ship plates, used and pitted rails and girders, whereas in case of girders and pipes length shall be 1.5 metres."
The importers say that previously the customs officials had been treating the consignments of the same material in accordance with the above-mentioned definition. However, they have now suddenly changed the process and asked to pay duties under specific heads of material.
"The customs collectorate Karachi has suddenly taken a 'U-turn', without any prior notification to the importers and overriding the CBR's decisions and Trade Policy 2004-05," said an importer.
He said that Karachi customs officials were misinterpreting and twisting unnecessarily pushing the consignments into demurrage, which would cripple and victimise the law abiding importers. "We have contacted economic managers of the country in Islamabad as well, and requested them to intervene and save millions of rupees losses being faced by the importers in the shape of demurrage," he added.