Saturday 25th January, 2025

Inordinate delays in the Customs clearance of imported freight containers have angered importers and container truck operators beyond measure. About 30 ships have already skipped the Colombo Port owing to congestion. There seems to be no end in sight to the protracted delays and the resultant long queues of container trucks in areas like Orgugodawatte.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake sought to remedy the situation by ordering the Customs to work 24/7, but to no avail. At a meeting chaired by him, the Customs bigwigs agreed to do as he said, but delays persist.

Worse, it has now been revealed that as many as 323 containers have been released without Customs inspection amidst delays. Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Janith Ruwan Kodituwakku has reportedly said the government takes full responsibility for the containers so released.

He has said that due to congestion, some containers have to be processed via the green channel as it is not possible to inspect as many as 2,000 40-foot boxes individually on a daily basis. He has also said the aforesaid 323 containers were released under the supervision of a three-member committee.

Smugglers must be making the most of the unchecked release of shipping containers. Contraband goods are often found in containers brought in through the Colombo Port, which has also become a major entry point for narcotics, and therefore the government must reveal to the public who ordered the release of the aforesaid 323 containers without inspection, and what they carried.

One may recall that in 2013, more than 131 kilos of heroin were found in a shipping container, which a coordinating secretary to the then Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne requested the Customs to clear on a priority basis. In July 2017, a consignment of cocaine weighing 218 kilos was detected in a container carrying sugar, at the Ratmalana Economic Centre. There have been numerous instances where Customs checks yielded huge amounts of dangerous drugs concealed in freight containers. Besides, Sri Lanka shipped back 263 containers filled with hospital waste to the UK; those banned items were imported in 2017 and 2019. This shows why no container should be released through the green channel.

The NPP government keeps on claiming that the current Customs delays have come about due to lapses on the part of the previous administrations, and new container yards will have to be built and the existing ones expanded to streamline the Customs clearance of imported containers.

True, the past governments were not blameless, but the current situation is due to the government’s failure to make the Customs fall in line. So, instead of trying to scapegoat its political rivals, the government must deal with the Customs with a firm hand.

It has chosen to kowtow to a cartel of wealthy rice millers and private bus operators despite its leaders’ braggadocio. The Customs are also defying government orders with impunity to all intents and purposes. Some importers have said that if the government plucks up the courage to confront the Customs, it will be able to streamline the release of containers within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the irate container truck drivers who have to wait on the road for days on end, without access to sanitary facilities, etc., have threatened a strike. Their grievances are legitimate, and it is hoped that the government will address them.