Delays continue to plague trade at Raxaul-Birgunj integrated checkpost

The change is visible on the National Highway connecting Raxaul (Bihar) and Birgunj (Nepal). This is a major route for Nepal’s imports of over $4 billion from India and over $3 billion from elsewhere.

Prior to the inauguration on April 7 of the Raxaul-Birgunj Integrated Check Post (ICP), there used to be a 20-km-long queue of trucks on the highway. Now, there is a queue of trucks, though much smaller, on the 7-km approach road to the ICP, located on the outskirts of Raxaul town.

The change is also apparent in Raxaul. Till April, more than 800 trucks carrying export cargo would ply every day through this old, congested town. Today, the traffic is down by 400-500 trucks a day, as they take a bypass to reach the ICP.

“Things have changed for the better. But more needs to be done,” said an Indian official associated with border trade.

Partly used

Some 300-400 trucks carrying dirty cargo — coal and cement clinker — to Nepal from the Raxaul railway yard, and oil products from Indian Oil’s Raxaul depot, take the old land customs station gate, bypassing the ICP.

The reason is a pure logistics advantage, but residents have a grouse. The old gate is located close to the depot and rail yard in the city. But that creates congestion and pollution in the town, which is a concern for the people in the vicinity.

There is no rail facility inside the ICP or a road that links the rail yard and the depot, bypassing the city.

In the long run a pipeline will replace the oil tankers, but there is no solution in sight for the dirty cargo traffic.

At a stakeholders’ meeting in Raxaul last week, ICP and district authorities argued for a road from the rail yard to the ICP. The local railway authorities and officials of the Indian mission in Nepal supported the move. But, it is yet to be seen how and when the plan will become a reality.

Meanwhile, 40-50 trucks of Nepalese export cargo to India also bypass the ICP. The district authority is keen that this traffic also shifts to the ICP as part of the decongestion drive.

The planning failures are not limited to dirty cargo. The approach road connecting the ICP with the national highway bypassing the city is merely a two-lane road and is intersected by two rail crossings and a weak bridge. Work on rail over bridges is incomplete as the contractor has abandoned the project.

While the ICP authorities are now insisting on a four-lane highway to the ICP and completion of pending work, they are more concerned about the queue of trucks on the approach road.

Logically, there shouldn’t be any such queue on the road, as the ICP has a parking space for 1,200 trucks against a daily flow of 400-500 trucks. Moreover, the average time taken for clearing an export consignment is barely 12 hours from the time of submission of shipping bills.

Poor trade practices

According to the Customs authorities, the fault lies in poor trade practices, as a large number of trucks reach the gates without shipping bills (the document identifying export) without which they are not allowed entry to the customs area or ICP.

The practice has its roots in the past, when heavy congestion at the gates offered clearing agents a long lead time to ready the documents. Though the waiting period has reduced, clearing agents are following the old time cycle. Even Indian Oil’s export cargo is not free from such practices.

A costly option

Meanwhile, Nepalese traders complain that the ICP has failed to speed up cargo clearance. According to Ashok Temani, Chairman, Road and Transit Committee of Nepalese apex chamber FNCCI, the average time taken for trucks carrying Nepalese import cargo is two to three days. He also alleges high charges at the ICP.

ICP authorities attribute the alleged delay to the queue on the approach road, blocking vehicles carrying shipping bills. “We guarantee that the ICP has enough capacity and if a truck reports with all necessary documents, it will surely enter Nepal on the same day,” a source said.

Officials claim that charges for ICP services are kept at rock bottom for the benefit of the Nepal trade.

Normally, the ICP charges an entry fee, weighing charges, a parking fee and customs appraisal charges in the case of physical verification of the cargo.

Following representation from the trade, the weighing charges have been reduced. And not a single consignment has been charged a customs appraisal fee since April.

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