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Royale Asia Couriers (India), an associate of the Hong Kong-based Royale Asia Group, has announced the launch of the (on board courier) OBC/hand carry service from and to India, according to its Managing Director, Mr Prem Kumar.
“We are the first global company to launch such a service in India,” he told Business Line .
The Commissioner of Customs, Chennai (airport and air cargo) recently allowed the import or export of courier items as personal carriage on board a flight by authorised courier agents through the Chennai airport, he said.
Royale Asia's OBC team will travel on the next scheduled flight with the client's shipment and hand-carry the same to the final destination. The company has seven persons ready to travel from Chennai at any time, he said.
A person will fly to a country carrying the pack or say an export item (can be up to 75 kg but the value below Rs 50,000) of a client to be delivered abroad. Similarly, a person can bring such courier from abroad, he said.
Expensive
“Yes, the service is very expensive,” said Mr Kumar but a client will pay the cost considering the urgency. If a patient needs to be treated in the ICU, the charge will be high. It is the same with the OBC service, which is quite a success with our parent that handles nearly 500 OBC packs every month out of Hong Kong,” he said.
For Chennai to Singapore, it could cost $1,200 to $1,500 while it could be less than $100 in an ordinary courier company, he said. The hand carry items that the parent group move include printed circuit boards, machine parts, retail samples, automotive parts, semiconductors and telecommunication devices, he said.
Saving time
If an item is to be delivered in China, sending the parcel through a regular courier company will take at least four days to deliver. However, by sending through a person, the item will reach in less than 48 hours, said Mr Kumar.
Asked about the demand for such a service, a trade source said it could be of help for clients dealing in ‘just in time' environment wherein they take decisions only at the last minute.
While importing an item, the agent will pay the necessary duty on arrival and get the items cleared. An ordinary person cannot do this service, as the item being a commercial one, it will take a long time to clear the cargo at the airport, said Mr Kumar.
The export courier parcels, which are permitted as hand carriage, will be permitted for export only against a courier shipping bill.
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