Revised guidelines on Import Free time – Pan India

Revised guidelines on Import Free time – Pan India

Dear Customer,

In the wake of the recent outbreak of COVID-19, The Government of India has implemented wide-ranging measures to ensure the safety of the population. We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of our employees whilst working towards mitigating any possible impact to our customers’ operations Our offices throughout India remain operational with all staff working remotely from the safety of their own home with adequate IT infrastructure to avoid any disruptions.

Considering this, we realize that some Cargo owners will temporarily cease operations or face challenges in transportation & documentation procedures during this period resulting in the disruption of Imports and Exports.

As your trusted logistics partner, Maersk is committed to being by your side during these challenging times and our colleagues continue to put efforts to keep the movement of essential supplies to India uninterrupted.

With this in view effective 27th March onwards we have come up with Revised guidelines on the Import Free time pan India.

Revised guidelines for Import Free period

As a special concession to our customers during these challenging times, we will not be charging container detention on all our Import shipments into India for the period from 25th March to 7th April (both days inclusive). This will be over & above any existing free time arrangement that is currently availed and agreed as a part of any negotiated contractual terms.

This concession is a one-off gesture for our customers whilst Maersk continues to face uncertainties and added costs due to network disruptions in these times. Our invoices will reflect this change for all import delivery orders impacted.

Below are a couple of examples which demonstrate how this will work & frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Example 1: If a container is discharged on 23rd March, having 14 days of contractual free time. As per the revised guidelines, the free time would end on 19th April 2020 and detention charges will be applicable from the 20th April (23rd – 24th: 2 days & then 12 days from 8th April onwards)

Example 2: If a container is discharged on 1 st April, with 10 days contractual free time, as per the revised guidelines the 1st day of free time will start on the 8th April onwards till 17th April and detention charges will be applicable from the 18th April.

Frequently asked questions:

Q.1. What is the period of detention blanket waiver considered by the shipping line?

A. We have considered a blanket detention waiver of a period of 14 days from 25th March to 7th April 2020 over and above the contracted free time.

Q.2. For which countries is this blanket detention Freetime applicable to?

A. The detention blanket Free time is only applicable to Imports into India and Nepal as well.

Q.3. Will this cover only Detention or Demurrage or both?

A. This change is only applicable to Imports Detention free time

Q.4. I have already paid detention for the period 25th March to 7th April. Will I receive a refund?

A. Yes, if you have already paid detention during this period to return the containers to our drop off yards in the interim you may apply for a refund on depositslip.in. If the containers are yet to return we will apply the detention amount paid for days post the declared detention waiver period. Example: Detention Payment done for period 25th to 27th March will be applied from 8th April to 10th April.

Q.5 Does this waiver apply to Port Demurrage charges and CFS ground rent charges?

A. No, the waiver is only applicable to Detention. Customers who are paying demurrage and/or CFS ground rent charges directly (e.g. DPD customers) will have to handle this directly with the respective Port/ CFS. In cases where customers are paying demurrage/ ground rent charges via Maersk, then we will endeavor to pass through any waiver/ concessions received by these Port/CFS to our customers.

Q.6. Does the detention waiver cover special commodities that have blanket commodity free time, service contract free time, SPOT free time, any special deal and consignee free time?

A. Yes, all commodities irrespective will be covered under the blanket free time period.

Q.7 If we are transporting cargo via merchant haulage from Kolkata to Nepal, will this detention waiver be applicable to my shipment?

A. Yes, you will also receive the 14 days blanket free time.

Q.8 As an export customer will I also be charged detention, and can I drop off the unused containers for free?

A. Shipping Line is yet to review the detention charges for export customers. However, we are currently allowing drop off of unused empty containers without charges that may have been picked up prior contingency on a case to case basis.

Q.9. Will I receive similar waivers for my export shipments transported by Maersk to other countries worldwide?

A. The decision to grant 14 days blanket free time for the mentioned period is only extended for import shipments into India and Nepal.

Q.10. Is the blanket free time waiver applicable for ICD shipments?

A. Yes, it covers ICD shipments too.

Q. 11. Why does this revised guideline not cover the entire contingency period?

A. This concession is a one-off gesture during this period for our customers. In the current situation, all partners in the supply chain face significant challenges. Maersk continues to face uncertainties and added costs due to network disruptions, however, we are committed to assisting our customers. Moreover, this additional free period is over and above any existing free time that is already part of our contractual agreements.

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