HCM City: Port infrastructure fees halved from August 1

A view of Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)

Port infrastructure fees for imported and exported goods transported by inland waterways in and out of Ho Chi Minh City are halved from August 1, in accordance with a resolution approved by the municipal People’s Council.

Accordingly, a 50% cut in fees is applied to goods for temporary import and re-export or deposited in bonded warehouses and for transit and transshipment of goods.

The new fee is now at 50,000 VND (2.2 USD) per tonne for liquid and bulk cargo, 2.2 million VND (94.5 USD) for a 20ft container and 4.4 million VND (189 USD) for a 40ft container.

Besides these measures, imported and exported goods for national defence and security, responding to and overcoming consequences of natural disasters and epidemics, and some other purposes are exempt from the fees.

The move aims to help businesses dealing with stiff challenges, such as rising fuel prices, and promote the city’s economic recovery programme after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reduction in fees also seeks to encourage businesses to increase use of waterways and reduce pressure on road transport.

More than 500 billion VND (21.5 million USD) has been collected via the automatic collection system so far.

The city expects to fetch revenues of about 3 trillion VND (129 million USD) a year.

It plans to invest the amount in port connectivity projects, including new roads and upgrades to existing ones near ports, as well as improving waterways and inland ports./.