GST seems fated for further delay; draft Bill not in place Business Line The rollout of the country’s most significant indirect tax reform is almost certain to be further delayed, with the government easing up on the draft of the enabling model legislation to usher in a Goods and Services Tax. While the Constitution Amendment Bill for the GST will be listed for consideration and passage by the Rajya Sabha in the Budget Session of Parliament, which starts on February 23, the groundwork for it is not fully in place. A highly placed source said that “the model legislation that has to be passed by the Centre and the States has not been given full shape.” Discussions with the States on the modalities of the GST structure have not yet been held, the source added. The government was hoping to put out the drafts of the enabling legislation – Central GST, State GST, and Inter-State GST – for public discussion by the end of December, but that hasn’t come about.

Transport lifeline Business Standard What differentiates Container Corporation of India (Concor) from its peers is its unmatched infrastructure — a handling capacity of three million twenty-feett equivalent containers (TEUs), 63 inland container depots and container freight stations, in addition to 250 rakes (trains comprising coaches and wagons). All other private players together have 150 rakes. The pan-India presence and low operational cost give Concor a significant edge over competitors, which is set to be reinforced by a doubling of capacity to six million TEUs by FY17. Concor, the Star PSU award winner, is India’s largest multi-modal logistics company, with a market share of about 75 per cent in container cargo transportation by rail. In FY15 it carried 36.18 million tonnes of the 48.83 million tonnes of containerised cargo transported by Indian Railways, or IR.

India public ports record modest container growth JOC Container throughput at India’s major public ports was up 2.21 percent year-over-year in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2015-16, but the growth would have been slightly higher if the largest container handler, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, hadn’t faced slowdowns due to prolonged industrial unrest at the DP World facility in the harbor last month. Port statistics collected by JOC.com show container terminals at the country’s 12 major ports handled 6.78 million 20-foot-equivalent units during April 2015 to January, up from 6.63 million TEUs in the corresponding period in fiscal 2014-15, which ended in March 2015. Of that, JNPT accounted for 3.73 million TEUs, inching up 0.4 percent year-over-year from 3.72 million TEUs. By terminal, APM Terminals-operated Gateway Terminals India handled 1.55 million TEUs, down 7 percent from 1.67 million TEUs;

Maharashtra Maritime board inducts 3 new survey launches DNA In a boost for maritime development in the state, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) has inducted new survey launches, which will be able to undertake hydrographic surveys with greater speed and accuracy. The three new boats will also hasten the board's plans to digitise its bathymetric data and ease construction of coastal infrastructure, such as ports, undersea pipelines, coastal roads and inland water transport systems, and operationalisation of ferry and inland water way services by mapping the navigational and geographic features. "These boats will enable state-of-the-art surveys and be much more efficient," MMB chief executive officer (CEO) Asheesh Sharma told dna, adding that the boats would replace the existing 1960 vintage boat, being used at present. Maharashtra will be one of the few coastal states with this facility.

McKinsey: India's Coastwise Shipping Will Grow Rapidly Maritime Executive Consultants McKinsey & Co. and AECOM have completed a study for the Indian Ministry of Shipping regarding the nation's maritime freight traffic, and have concluded that optimization – primarily boosting coastal shipping and speeding up container exports – could lead to cost savings in the billions. Further, the study estimates 20 percent annual growth in coastwise bulk freight traffic through 2025 - an increase from 150-250 million tons per year today to 750 million tons per year by the end of that period. The consultants also expect container volume at Indian ports to double, to 21 million TEU by 2025. If government initiatives like the Make in India program are successful, that volume could be as much as 25 million TEU, McKinsey said.

Vessel stuck on Elbe is afloat again Container Management The 19,000 teu vessel aground on the river Elbe for over five days is afloat again after a successful attempt to free it by taking advantage of the high spring tide on February 9. Following two failed attempts last week, five tugs dragged the China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL)’s Indian Ocean vessel into the navigation channel and towed it to the Port of Hamburg in an operation planned last week by Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME), which took over managing the incident, to take advantage of the full moon high tide. The vessel, which was stranded on February 3 around 25 km ahead of the Port of Hamburg due to a technical failure, arrived at the port at 6.15am (CET) on February 9, following a 20-minute operation to drag the ship back into the navigation channel which began at about 2am (CET) and involved a total of 12 tugs.

RFID to be launched at Chennai port soon The Hindu Radio frequency identification (RFID) and e-seal are expected to be launched at Chennai port within a week or two. At a an interaction session with exporters and importers, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, and the Chennai Port Trust, here on Tuesday Chennai Port Trust Chairman M.A. Bhaskarachar said that live demonstration of the use of RFID was held at the port on Tuesday. It would be introduced for all vehicles so that they need not wait for manual checking for entry, said B. Vimal, traffic manager at the port. The e-seal would be a part of the RFID programme. Mr. Bhaskarachar added that the problem of congestion had also been addressed at the port during the last 10-15 days. A task force had been formed that monitored within the port and a group checked the trailers for documents outside the port area and this had brought down congestion.

Rise in improperly declared hazmat cargo highlights supply chain risk JOC Hapag-Lloyd says there was a 65 percent increase in improperly declared hazardous cargo it carried last year, the latest sign of how dangerous goods could disrupt supply chains through accidents such as those that took place recently in China and Brazil. The announcement of the discovery of more than 4,300 cases of wrongly declared cargo was made possible by Hapag’s Watchdog IT system, which reviews cargo data and flags unusual or suspicious information and shipments for further inspection. It is actually because of one of these aforementioned incidents, the explosion at the world’s tenth-busiest port of Tianjin in August, that Hapag saw such a steep increase in misdeclared cargo. Increased scrutiny of supply chains and shipments by ports in the wake of that explosion, which killed more than 170 people,

Kamarajar Port to invest Rs. 8,100 crore The Hindu Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL) will be commissioning five projects, including its maiden container terminal and multi-purpose cargo berths, within the next three years at a cost of Rs.8,100 crore, according to a top official. The project will increase the port’s cargo handling capacity by 44 million tonnes to 80 million tonnes per annum. Talking to The Hindu , M.A. Bhaskarachar, KPL chairman-cum-managing director, said: “A sum of Rs.8,100 crore is being invested in new projects to keep pace with competition from neighbouring ports such as L&T Kattupalli Port, Karaikal, Tuticorin, Chennai and Krishnapatnam Ports. With the completion of these projects, KPL’s terminal handling capacity will increase from 36 million tonnes to 80 million tonnes by 2018 and touch 100 million tonnes by 2020

Move to transport LNG via rail dropped The Hindu A proposal to transport LNG by rail from Vallarpadam to Kayamkulam has been shelved by authorities for unknown reasons. It has never received due official patronage despite being feasible and capable of ending the current phase of uncertainty over LNG connectivity to NTPC, Kayamkulam, according to expert opinion.The rail connectivity project had been discussed with the railway authorities a year ago, but it did not get due support from the government machinery, a top official associated with the project told The Hindu on Monday. Materialisation of the project would have solved the present crisis faced by NTPC, Kayamkulam. The 359-MW power generation unit at Kayamkulam has been remaining idle for most part of the year. The capacity utilisation has reached as low as seven per cent annually.

ASL Aviation to acquire TNT’s airline operations ATW Online Dublin-based ASL Aviation Group has signed a conditional agreement to buy two cargo airlines owned by TNT Express, which is itself being acquired by FedEx. TNT Express is being acquired by FedEx and, if the deal succeeds, TNT’s Belgian airline TNT Airways and its Spanish carrier Pan Air Líneas Aéreas will have to be divested due to airline ownership regulations. As reported by ATW last November, ASL Aviation Group was always a likely candidate to acquire the two airlines. This is because ASL Aviation Group was on track to acquire TNT Airways and Pan Air in 2012, when United Parcel Service (UPS) launched a takeover bid for TNT Express. This deal ultimately failed on competition grounds, thwarting ASL Aviation’s plans to acquire the cargo carriers. In a statement, TNT Express said it has now agreed to sell TNT Airways and Pan Air to ASL Aviation for an undisclosed sum.

SpiceJet plans to start door-to-door cargo delivery service amid turnaround plan DNA Budget carrier SpiceJet is planning to launch a door-to-door cargo delivery service as it seeks to explore other revenue streams amid a turnaround plan. The Gurgaon-based airline is in the process of setting up required infrastructure for the service, which is expected to be rolled out this fiscal, top airline sources said. SpiceJet has already placed order for 100 sub-three tonne trucks with a leading Mumbai-based commercial vehicle maker, besides leasing commercial space for 40 warehousing facilities across the country, they said. Significantly, the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines had unsuccessfully experimented with a cargo delivery service in 2010. "The proposed service is in the planning phase. We are working on it and are hoping that we launch the service within this fiscal," an airline source said.

Government mulls measures to arrest falling exports Hindustan Times An early recovery of India’s economy seems a distant dream, as India’s merchandise exports have been contracting in double-digits since December 2014 due to tepid global demand and volatile global currency market. Data recently released by the commerce ministry showed that during December 2015, exports contracted 14.75% to $22.3 billion, while imports shrank 3.9% to $33.9 billion, amounting to a trade deficit of $11.7 billion. India’s overall exports are projected by the ministry to decline 13% from the last year’s level to $270 billion in 2015-16, with a trade deficit of around $120-125 billion. “The two major reasons behind declining exports are — falling crude prices and the Indian rupee, which has not depreciated as much as the other currencies have. This has made exports from India less competitive. Oil crash is something on which India has no control.

Export Of Goods And Services Regulations Streamlined By The RBI Mondaq The Foreign Exchange Management (Export of goods and services) Regulations, 2000 have been superseded by the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2015 ("Export of Goods and Services Regulations 2015") issued by the RBI on January 12, 2016. The Export of Goods and Services Regulations will come into effect from date of its publication in the official gazette. The Export of Goods and Services Regulations 2015 clarify that in case for the export of services where no Form has been prescribed, the exporter may be permitted to export such services without furnishing any declarations, provided the exporter realises the full value of the services exported within the prescribed time and the payments for the services are made in the specified manner.

Baltic freight index hits new record low Business Line The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, continued its nosedive on Tuesday to touch another record low on slowing activity, especially from China. The Baltic Dry Index, which posted its record high of 11,793 points on May 20, 2008, has slumped to 291 points, marking the lowest level since the Baltic records began in January 1985. The index has yet to post a single session of gain this year and has tumbled nearly 40 per cent, touching fresh lows in 25 of the 27 sessions thus far. The index is viewed by investors as an indicator of global industrial activity.

Big Containerships losing edge on lower bunker prices says Drewry Hellenic Shipping News Much lower marine fuel prices are reducing big containerships’ cost advantages. Drewry Maritime Advisors examines the impact on carriers’ network planning. Bunker prices are now at a low level not seen since the early 2000s. When bunker prices increased five-fold, to levels in excess of $600 per tonne, lines responded with a number of cost saving measures as they focussed on bunkers as the biggest single cost item in their business. However, with the complete reversal of that trend, and bunker prices now in the range $100-150 per tonne again, Drewry Maritime Advisors has examined how this change in the line’s cost structure may influence the way in which they plan and operate their networks.Slow steaming – and later super slow steaming – became a feature of lines’ operations when bunker prices rose dramatically in 2007/8. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com