Sunday, May 16, 2004
Sunday, May 16, 2004 |
| New Delhi | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | New Delhi
By Mandira Nayar
NEW DELHI, MAY 15. It was a consignment of waste paper that lived up to its name and went waste. Having ordered a supply of waste paper from Sri Lanka, the last thing that Amrit Papers expected was that they would have to wait for a month for the shipping company to clear it from customs. Angry at the inconvenience and the extra cost that they were forced to deal with because of the delay, they decided to take Finnex Shipping Services to court. Now a bench of the district consumer disputes redress forum in New Delhi has held the shipping company guilty for not despatching the cargo on time. It has further directed Finnex Shipping to pay Rs. 70,300 towards ground rent and container detention charges for the extra period that the cargo lay at the Customs. In its argument before the bench of the consumer court, Amrit Papers held that the consignment of paper reached on December 31, 1999, and the company made all the required payments by demand draft. However, they were later informed that all the original documents sent by them to the shipping company had been misplaced. A month later Amrit Papers were further required to pay an additional Rs. 1,11,704 towards container detention charges, security charges as well as ground rent. According to them, even though the payment was uncalled for and unreasonable, they paid to get the consignment cleared at the earliest. Despite all the payments, the consignment reached a month late, the company stated. In its defence, Finnex Shipping Services stated that Amrit Papers couldn't be regarded as a consumer as it is in the business of manufacturing paper and engaged in commercial activities. It further stated that while Amrit Papers sent all the documents on time, the drafts for the payment for custom duties were not made till later for which the paper company itself was responsible. The documents for the release of the consignment were submitted to the custom authorities on January 5, 2000. However, after the initial scrutiny and payment of the duties, the file was misplaced by the custom authorities, the shipping company submitted. Therefore, the delay of the consignment could not be blamed on them as it was beyond their control. After going through all the evidence, a bench of the district consumer disputes redressal forum in New Delhi observed that the objections raised by the shipping company that Amrit Papers was not a consumer was not tenable and the case of so-called deficiency in service against them was covered in the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act. "There is also no denial of the fact that the file containing the relevant papers for obtaining custom clearance was misplaced in the authority's complex by the shipping company," the bench stated. "Therefore, any delay caused on that account would lie at the doors of the shipping company,'' it added. There was no justifiable explanation for misplacement of the file and it clearly shows negligence on the part of the shipping company, the bench stated and hence held the Shipping Company responsible for the delay. Regarding the additional costs paid by Amrit Papers for the delay, the bench held that Rs. 1,50,525 amount sought by the paper company on account of loss due to stoppage of production for one month could not be compensated under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Protection Act. However, it directed the shipping company to pay Rs. 70,300 towards ground rent and container detention charges for the extra period from January 7, 2000, to January 29, 2000, at 9 per cent interest.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
