CCH stakeholders concerned over errors

Our Correspondent | Published: August 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

CHITTAGONG, Aug 10: Stakeholders have voiced serious concerns at disturbances faced by them in filing documents under the newly-launched ASYCUDA world server system at the Chittagong Customs House (CCH).
The concerns were raised at a meeting on implementation of the new system held at the CCH auditorium. NBR (National Board of Revenue) Member (customs principles, statistics and research) and project director of the AWIP (ASYCUDA World Implementation Project) Farid Uddin Ahmed presided over the meeting.
Following the allegations, the customs authority assured the stakeholders that an IT (information technology) expert would be monitoring the disruptions in the ASYCUDA server system from August 12 and the server system will be further improved to avoid recurrence of the defects.
Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CMCCI) vice president AM Mahbub Chowdhury, BGMEA director Anjan Shekhor Das, BKMEA leader Shawkat Osman, Shipping Agents Association senior vice president Ahsanul Huq, Freight Forwarders Association director (admin) Amiyo Shankar Barman, Freight Forwarders Association director Khairul Alam Suzan, CCH commissioner Masud Sadik, project manager Syed Mushfiqur Rahman, additional commissioner of CCH Azizur Rahman, joint commissioner (licence) Foyzul Masud, ASYCUDA World Chittagong coordinator and joint commissioner Abdul Hakim and terminal manager of Chittagong Port Authority Enamul Karim, among others, addressed the meeting.
Representatives of the stakeholders alleged that the server was frequently seeing disruptions and the pace of work was rather slowing down with the new system.
The stakeholders have to wait for long to get logged-in to the system and face frequent disconnections during the submission of IGM (import general manifest). Errors appear flashing 'seal no' 'container no' etc and even after successful upload of the XML file some data get deleted or missing.
Sometimes freight forwarders don't get any message through mail from carriers for IGM submission. As a result, they have to submit IGM at the eleventh hour on a phone call from the carriers. The sudden system break-down also hampers the eleventh hour submission of IGM.
They said after uploading of the XML the file confirmation message was coming after 7-10 hours and sometimes the confirmation message was not showing up at all.
In the past automation system there was an option to declare the Imco (import container) by the following day if someone somehow failed to declare the same. But in the present system there is no option to declare later, once the registration number is declared.
The Freight Forwarders Association made three suggestions from users: a) The CCH should have a strong customer support team, b) container number and type should be fixed with MLO (main line operator) submission and c) ASYCUDA system should reject the wrong submission of any data.
The meeting also decided not to continue the Part FCL system which has been in force since 2007. The chairman of the meeting said there was no system of Part FCL in the world and so it should not be in force in the country. However the system will be in force for the next two months and it will be finally abolished after taking a decision in a meeting two months later.