GAC wins Best Ship Agency Award for second consecutive year

DUBAI: GAC has been named the best ship agent in the ShipTek Maritime Awards for the second year running. The awards, held in conjunction with ShipTek Maritime Conference, recognise companies that have made significant contributions to the maritime industry.

 

The award was accepted by Mikko Wieru, GAC’s Group Sales Director – East, who says: “This recognises the hard work of our people and the trust that we have meticulously built and nurtured with all our stakeholders throughout the years. We will continue to uphold that trust and serve our customers through constant upgrading and innovation.

 

“We live in a world of change. As the world’s leading provider of ship agency services, we have already embarked on a journey to keep pace with the evolution that the maritime industry is gradually but unquestionably experiencing right now.”

 

GAC is a global provider of integrated shipping, logistics and marine services. It entered the Asian market with its first office in Hong Kong in 1974. Today, it has some 100 offices in 14 countries in this region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China, the Philippines and India.

Mundra Custom Broker Association elects New Office Bearers

MUNDRA: The Mundra Custom Broker Association held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently at Fern Residency, Mundra to elect the New Office Bearers. 

 

Mr. Dinesh Gupta was elected as the President and Mr. Sanjay Dave as Vice President. Mr. Manoj Kotak and Mr. Hemchand Yadav were elected as Secretary and Joint Secretary respectively while Mr. Pramod Soneta was elected as Treasurer, said a release from Mundra Custom Broker Association.

Govt may soon announce measures to boost exports

NEW DELHI: The Government is expected to soon announce measures for certain sectors, including gems and jewellery, 

to boost the country's subdued exports, an official said.

 

Finance and Commerce Ministries have held several round of talks on these measures, the official said.

 

As part of a proposal that is under consideration, the Government may extend the deadline for removal of tax benefits to units in the special economic zones (SEZs).

 

In the Union Budget 2016-17, it was announced that income tax benefits to new SEZ units would be available to only those entities that commence activity before March 31, 2020.

 

For the labour-intensive gems and jewellery sector, the Government is looking at cutting import duty on coloured gem stones and polished diamonds from the current 7.5 per cent.

 

There is also a consideration to increase the insurance coverage by the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India for export credit from the current 60 per cent to 90 per cent.

 

This would enable banks to provide more export credit at competitive rates.

 

To promote domestic manufacturing and cut imports, there is a plan for strict implementation of rules of origin criteria to check diversion of imports via free-trade agreement Countries.

 

A standard operating procedure could be implemented for faster clearance of import and export consignments. Exporters are demanding several other measures such as enhancing benefits of the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) for sectors like non-basmati rice and textiles, besides interest subvention for large pharmaceutical companies.

"Because exports are passing through tough times amidst global contraction in demand due to economic uncertainties, support measures for exporters would help in imparting further competitiveness to it," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director-General Ajay Sahai said. 

 

S C Ralhan, President of the Ludhiana-based Hand Tools Association, said refund of indirect taxes such as on oil and power, and state levies such as mandi tax would help in dealing with liquidity issue.

 

India's exports have recorded 2.25 per cent growth in July. Cumulatively during April-July this fiscal, the exports dipped by 0.37 per cent to USD 107.41 billion.

 

Single Authority Mechanism for Processing GST refunds to Exporters soon

NEW DELHI: It is welcome news that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council — the all-powerful federal indirect tax body — at its meeting on September 20 is expected to approve the procedure to permit a single authority for sanctioning and processing GST refunds for exporters in a quick and an efficient manner.

 

It is worth noting that as per the proposed single authority mechanism, once a refund claim is filed, whether Centre or State, the Tax Officer will check, review and sanction full tax refund (both Central GST and State GST portion), thus eliminating complications faced by the taxpayers.

 

The move may give a much-needed boost to the stressed exports sector, which contracted 0.37 per cent to USD 107.41 billion in April-July 2019-20 as the sector is facing challenges because of sluggish global demand and liquidity crunch. The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising representatives of all States, is slated to meet in Goa and discuss the single-authority mechanism.

 

At present, the system entails a twin refund sanctioning authority, central and state tax officers. This could well change when the proposed new mechanism involving a single authority comes in place. Currently, if a taxpayer files for a refund with a Central Tax Officer, then he would clear 50 per cent of the claims, while the remaining is approved by the State Tax Officers after further scrutiny.

 

Many industry watchers say the current mechanism of two authorities settling the same refund claims makes the process complex and cause too much inconvenience for the taxpayers.

 

Mr. Bipin Sapra, Partner, EY, said, “A single authority for clearing the refunds would ease the burden of exporters to a large extent … It would also streamline and reduce litigation and bring more uniformity in the position taken.”

CMA CGM makes presence at Asia Fruit Logistica (4-6 Sept.) to showcase the Group’s expertise in transporting fresh fruits

MARSEILLES : From September 4th to 6th, 2019, the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, will attend in Hong Kong ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA, the region’s top trade show dedicated to the fruit industry and its logistics. 

CMA CGM will present its expertise in handling and shipping fresh products at this must-attend regional event, which attracts every year more than 800 exhibitors and 13,500 visitors from around the World. 

 

CMA CGM - Reefer experts

One of the World’s largest carrier of refrigerated containers (“Reefers”), CMA CGM has a young and dedicated fleet of 385,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), in which it continually invests. A global Reefer carrier, CMA CGM has an extensive network coverage, which is complemented by strong local expertise, thereby allowing the Group to offer efficient global, as well as intra regional services.

The Group’s experts offer clients the latest technologies in Reefer transportation, such as CLIMACTIVE, the most advanced controlled atmosphere solution. By quickly reducing the level of oxygen inside the container it is particularly well suited to organic produce and fruits with long transit times.

 

CLIMACTIVE allows the Group’s customers to increase the attractiveness of their products by maintaining freshness to destination, by regulating the maturation process, by extending their products’ shelf life and by preserving their quality. It also makes it possible to export to more distant locations and thereby to target new markets. Finally, CLIMACTIVE does not need any chemical treatment and thus allows customers to keep their organic label.

 

CMA CGM has also developed REEFLEX to optimize the transport of liquids via refrigerated containers thanks to an innovative design and technology which guarantee optimal hygiene and food safety conditions. REEFLEX thus allows for the transport of liquid commodities (fruit juice, milk, syrup, or any type of food oil) in a single tank with a capacity of 12,000 to 26,000 liters.

 

CMA CGM, a transport and logistics leader in Asia Pacific 

CMA CGM is a transport and logistics market leader in Asia-Pacific, with a strong presence of 118 agencies in 19 countries, employing more than 4,000 people and operating 4 brands in the region: CMA CGM, APL and ANL for the long-haul, and CNC for Intra-Asia.

Since 2016, the Group has set its Regional hub in Singapore, where it offers more than 100 services per week thanks to its best-in-class network of Ocean Alliance, North-South and Short-Sea lines, and from where it operates its Fleet Navigation Centre for the APAC region.

Bhushan Kumar appointed as Joint Secretary in Shipping Ministry September 04 , 2019

NEW DELHI: Bhushan Kumar has been appointed as Joint Secretary in Ministry of Shipping through lateral entry for the first time in India. Bhushan was CEO and MD at Diamond Shipping, which is a part of Dubai-based Sharaf Group from January 2008 to July 2009.

He was the Vice President/GM-legal at Maersk India Pvt Ltd in Mumbai from 2004 till 2007. Prior to this, Bhushan Kumar worked as General Manager at Caleb Brett India Pvt Ltd, Jamnagar and as Nautical Officer at TS Chanakya.

Bhushan Kumar has 20 Years of experience in shipping and related projects. Recently he was working as General Manager in GSPC LNG, a Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. He was Head of Shipping, Business Development and Contract departments. He has vast experience in shipping and related projects. He has played key role in several projects at different ports in India.

Ocean Network Express further expands Refrigerated Container Fleet

SINGAPORE: Ocean Network Express (ONE) is expanding its current refrigerated container (reefer) fleet of 240,000 TEU by adding another 6000 (40” HC) units, including 500 units equipped with advanced Controlled Atmosphere (CA) technology which slows down the respiration and ripening process to maximize the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. These reefer containers will be made available for accepting new bookings towards end of the year to meet reefer peak season global demand around the world.

 

ONE has one of the largest, state of the art reefer fleet in the world, equipped with the most advanced technologies designed to handle perishable cargo demand. With this new investment of 6000 reefer units, coming on the heels of last year’s industry leading procurement of 14,000 units, ONE demonstrates its strong commitment to meet growing demand for containerized reefer trade, which remains strongly augmented by expansion of middle class in Asia constantly demanding healthy food choices. In 2019 so far, the growth in global refrigerated container trade has outperformed the growth in global container trade and ONE expects the growth momentum to be maintained for remaining months of the year.

 

ONE is currently working towards the application of latest IoT technology into its fleet of reefer containers which allows real time visibility of critical information such as temperature, humidity inside the container, thereby enhancing value chain proposition of perishable trade.

 

Jun Shibata, Senior Vice President of Strategic Yield Management, commented “ONE is committed to provide our customers with the best in class capabilities to ship your perishables to meet growing demands and opportunities to broaden to new markets. We continuously explore new technologies in refrigerated container segment to improve the service value proposition for our customers dealing with perishable cargos.”

 

ONE’s Global reefer strategy

The Global Reefer Business Planning team (GRBP), based at ONE’s HQ in Singapore, develops ONE’s global reefer marketing and business strategy through close monitoring of market demand and closely collaborating with the regional reefer steering desks located in different parts of the world.

ONE’s Reefer technical team is available on board and on shore to provide round the clock assistance when required. We continue to provide higher quality and more competitive services for our valued customers.