Handling charges for TCP wheat: tally firm sues PSA for recovery of Rs two million dues

A private tally firm has sued the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) in a local court for non-payment of over two million rupees on account of handling of over 0.845 million tons of wheat TCP imported at Gwadar Port. Khurram Abbas, PSA's Country Manager in Pakistan, however, shrugged off the claim outright denying that the Authority was party to any such deal with a tally firm.
According to sources, a tally terminal and allied contractor company, Hussain Traders (HT), has filed a suit in the City Court on February 24 to fetch the internationally-reputed Singaporean port operator for defaulting on the outstanding dues of Rs 2.029201 million.
In the petition the HT has claimed that the PSA had failed to clear the payment of at least 22 wheat ships carrying around 845501.177 tons of wheat imported by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) at Gwadar Port during February 19 to April 21 last year.
Sources recalled that the Authority soon after taking charge of the port had awarded a contract to the lowest bidder, the HT, for tallying and checking discharging of the imported consignments of wheat, fertiliser, etc at Gwadar Port at the rate of Rs 2.40 per metric ton.
The concessionaire, however, has allegedly drifted from the agreed terms of references of the contract and has refused to pay the outstanding amount until the contractor reduces his rate from Rs 2.40 to Rs 1.50. Sources told Business Recorder that the contractor had submitted at least two invoices of Rs 1.192258 million and Rs 0.836943 million in the PSA's Karachi office on April 07 last year, by in vain.
When approached for comments, Muhammad Hussain, proprietor of HT, told Business Recorder: "We have repeatedly communicated with the PSA officials directly and through our lawyer, but the Authority did not heed to our concern." He said while 10 months had elapsed the PSA had no intention to make the payment, a major chunk of which would go to the poor daily wagers who had worked round the clock to keep the Gwadar Port operational.
According to sources, the petition has been filed in the court which would fix the date for hearing most probably sometimes next week. Sources said how an internationally recognised port operator like the PSA could disrespect its own agreement on the basis of such meager amount.
Rejecting the claim as "wrong", PSA's Country Manager Khurram Abbas told Business Recorder that his side had neither appointed nor tendered for any firm to accomplish the tally job. "We have not appointed them (HT) as a tally contractor rather it is (the) TCP which is responsible for the stevedore work on free out basis," he said.
The PSA official also denied that the firm had received any legal notice from the court. "We would respond to it (notice) accordingly when it comes to us... we would take the legal recourse," he said. Abbas said the TCP was to take care of the stevedoring work that among other things included tally of the cargo.