Major ports in India get tariff regulator

The Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) will no longer be in charge of setting tariffs at the 12 major ports under Central government control after 24 years. The Major Ports Authority Bill 2020 established the Board of Port Authority, which will now set tariffs that will be used as a guide during the bidding process for public-private-partnership (PPP) projects. According to the Ministry of Shipping's annual report for 2020-21, PPP operators are free to set tariffs based on market conditions. TAMP's Reference Tariff Guidelines were extended until 8th March 2021, or until further orders, whichever comes first. According to the ministry's annual report, it's now official that TAMP is no longer in effect. TAMP had created a consultative process that gave the port/terminals industry a platform to interact on any proposal, including tariff revisions, G Raghu Shankar, Executive Director of the International Clearing and Shipping Agency, told the media. With the addition of multiple facilities, both private and public, the landscape of ports and port terminals has changed dramatically over time, providing users with options that aren't always based on tariffs. This reduced TAMP's importance in an indirect way. The ministry could, however, initiate a consultative process. On the one hand, major ports have eliminated industry representation on the Board, while on the other, user participation in tariff setting and other port-related development activities is needed to help balance the demand-supply situation, according to AV Vijayakumar, CEO of Paramount Shipping. TAMP was established in 1997 after the government amended the Major Port Trusts Act of 1963 and issued a gazette notification on April 10, 1997. It was given the task of establishing the ‘scale of rates and statement of conditions' for services provided by the major port trusts and private terminals, as well as the fees for using port facilities. Image Source Also read: Govt inaugurates loading ops of Green Freight Corridor in Kerala