The Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA) is poised to introduce new handling fees at private inland container depots (ICDs) starting tomorrow (1 September), which will increase rates for export cargo by as much as 44%, along with charges for empty containers. This adjustment is anticipated to elevate costs for exporters, particularly in the garment industry.

The revised tariff structure, revealed in a circular dated 15 July, will result in a notable rise in fees. Handling fees for export cargo will escalate by 36% to 44%, while the charges for handling empty containers will rise by up to 31.8%. Conversely, the fees for handling import containers will remain the same.

As per the BICDA, this increase is deemed essential to accommodate the growing operational and investment expenses, which include heightened labor and equipment costs, maintenance fees, the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar, and increasing bank interest rates.

“Our operational expenses have surged significantly over the past few years. We had no choice but to adjust the fees,” stated BICDA Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder in an interview with The Business Standard.

This decision has faced strong backlash from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), which labeled the increase as “unreasonable” and “unjustified” in light of a global downturn in apparel demand.

BGMEA Director Rakibul Alam Chowdhury cautioned that raising fees without consulting stakeholders will exacerbate the export crisis and called for an immediate retraction of the new rates.

“ICDs are already facing capacity challenges. Raising fees without stakeholder input will intensify the export crisis,” he remarked. The new charges will raise the handling fee for a 20-foot export container from Tk6,187 to Tk9,900. For a 40-foot container, the fee will increase from Tk8,250 to Tk13,200.

A new fee of Tk14,900 has been implemented for 40-foot high-cube and 45-foot containers. Previously, this was the same rate applied to 40-foot containers. Other charges, such as ground rent, documentation, and lift-on/lift-off fees, have also been updated. Ground rent is now set at Tk150 for 20-foot containers (an increase from Tk115), and Tk300 for 40-foot and larger containers (up from Tk230).

Moreover, the landing charge per tonne has been adjusted to Tk270 (up from Tk207); the documentation fee is now Tk450 (previously Tk276); and the lift-on/lift-off charge has risen to Tk750 (up from Tk512).

Transportation costs for empty containers will also see an increase. The fee for 20-foot containers will rise to Tk2,500 from Tk1,705, while the charge for 40-foot high-cube or 45-foot containers will be Tk4,000, up from Tk3,410.

The circular also highlighted that although port and freight charges are typically paid in US dollars, ICD fees continue to be collected in local currency, complicating the financial situation for depot operators facing rising costs.

At present, 19 private ICDs manage about 93% of Bangladesh’s export cargo and 20% of its containerized imports.

They also oversee a substantial number of empty containers.

Additionally, two other ICDs, Anchorage and Bay Link, focus on handling empty containers, with Anchorage recently obtaining approval from the National Board of Revenue to process imports as well.