The Philippine Competition Commission agreed to investigate excessive charges imposed by international shipping lines.
“We thank the commission led by chairman Arsenio Balisacan and the commissioners, for listening to the plea of exporters and importers. We must put an end to this unfair practice of charging excessive fees as these charges increase the cost,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
A study on potentially avoidable international shipping costs and other charges identified certain fees imposed by some international shipping lines. The study concluded that these costs should be considered part of foreign carriers’ operations and covered under freight costs.
It also said the excessive costs should not be allowed to be incurred by or passed on to local exporters and importers, especially if they did not have any contractual relationship with the foreign carriers.
“We are calling on all international shipping lines to put a halt to these unnecessary charges as these are unfair. Meanwhile, we also call on exporters and importers to insist on ‘freight collect’ as this is more advantageous. Finally, we shall also call on the Bureau of Internal Revenue to investigate unpaid taxes arising from these charges,” Lopez said.