Importers yesterday alleged that operators, shipping agents and freight forwarders are extorting additional fees from them during delivery of containers at the Chittagong Port.

The importers at a meeting in the port city objected to the “illegal charges”, and the situation prompted business leaders to form a monitoring cell with representatives of all stakeholders to solve the issue.

The Port Users Forum, a platform of Chittagong Port's stakeholders, organised the meeting with its Chairman Mahbubul Alam in the chair.

Alam blamed freight forwarders for collecting additional charges such as delivery order charge and destination service charge, violating directions from the National Board of Revenue.

Besides, different shipping agents and main line operators are collecting varying rates of documentation fees, cleaning fees and administrative fees, which should be uniform, said Alam, also the president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

However, slapping documentation fees here is illogical since importers already pay those at the port of origin, said Nasir Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, first vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The shipping agents are randomly charging importers for cleaning services, even though not all containers carry perishables, said Quazi Mahmud Imam Bilu, first joint general secretary of Chittagong Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association.

He also blamed shipping agents for taking illogical repairing charges against almost 70 percent of the import containers that are directly delivered from Chittagong Port.

MA Latif, a member of the parliamentary standing committee on shipping, called for discussions to sort out the long-running problem.