With an objective of understand the implications of various changes and amendments in the existing Customs Notifications and Tariff/Duty structure announced by the Union Finance Minister while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23 on February 1, the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India organised a webinar on the same. The webinar was addressed by eminent Advocate Consultant and also Mentor on Legal matter, empanelled with FFFAI, Joshua Ebenezer provided detailed analysis of the changes/amendments made in the Budget 2022 concerning Customs clearance and tariff. The webinar was also addressed by Shankar Shinde, Chairman; Dushyant Mulani, Chairman Elect; AV Vijayakumar, Immediate Past Chairman; S. Ramakrishna, Past Chairman & Advisor and other office bearers of FFFAI. The webinar was attended by approximately 200 FFFAI members from across the country. Ebenezer analysed the changes and amendments very eloquently and simply with relevant examples for better understanding of the participants. He also made caution about the ambiguities due to self-contradictions betwen different amendments, which according to him, requires further clarifications from the Customs authority. Addressing the gathering, Shankar Shinde thanked all FFFAI Office Bearers, Advisors and members for participating in the webinar. He also appreciated FFFAI members for providing inputs before the Budgeted 2022, which were discussed with the CBIC, Ministry of Finance as pre-Budget discussions. According to the FFFAI Chairman, many of them have been addressed in this Budget and FFFAI would continue the dialogue with the government for further facilitation of Customs clearance as well as foreign trade. Earlier, Dushyant Mulani conveyed that amendments in the Union Budget are always eagerly awaited by Industry. From a customs point of view, it is not only about the changes in tariff but also about …

Increff, a leading Indian Supply Chain SaaS innovator offering inventory optimization solutions for e-commerce, fashion, and retail brands has raised $12 million in its Series B funding round. TVS Capital Funds, Premji Invest, Binny Bansal’s 021 Capital, and 6 existing angels participated in this round. Focusing on expanding its global presence, Increff will utilize the funds for setting up offices and strengthening the local teams in the US and European region. Furthermore, the capital raised will be invested in adding visionary products, and services, to Increff’s portfolio for supply chain optimization. Increff offers a host of SaaS-based industry-agnostic merchandising solutions and smart warehousing solutions. As businesses around the globe begin to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, brands are pinning their hopes on cutting-edge tech solutions to navigate through intense price pressures, inventory mismanagement issues, demand fulfillment challenges, etc. Leveraging intelligent automation tools offered by Increff, brands, and retailers can easily adapt to the ever-changing consumer expectations through algorithm-based merchandise planning, pricing, allocation solutions, and achieve higher inventory accuracy & order fulfillment efficiency with warehousing solutions. Increff is well placed in solving the challenges of the customers for more than 10 retail verticals. Currently, they are market leaders in the fashion space in India and the Middle East and are seeing a growing clientele in the US and Europe.

Snowman Logistics Limited has completed the construction of a temperature-controlled warehouse at Coimbatore and the facility has become operational during February 2022. The total capacity of the facility is 4020 Pallets. It is a multi-temperature facility designed to store products ranging from ambient temperature to -25 Deg Centigrade with 8 chambers, 6 loading bays with related infrastructure that includes G+5 racking system, modern handling equipment and ample refrigerated truck parking space. The facility will mainly cater to the storage, handling and transportation of quick service restaurants, poultry, ready-to-eat food, ice cream, dairy products, confectionery & bakery products, seafood, fruits & vegetables, pharma, and other products. Snowman also starts its SnowServe facility – a fulfilment centre for Amazon India in Pune. Amazon will be using this facility for the delivery of FMCG perishables including vegetables, fruits, eggs, frozen food, and groceries in the city. The facility is spread across 12,000 sqft area and has sorting, grading, packing and labeling process lines. It is also equipped with storage for grocery, FMCG and temperature controlled products. It is a multi-temperature facility designed to store products ranging from ambient temperature to -25 Deg Centigrade with 3 no of chambers, 3 loading bays with related infrastructure that includes racking system, modern handling equipment and ample refrigerated truck parking space. “Snowman has been catering to a comprehensive network of reputed clients and meeting their temperature-controlled environment requirement through technology-enabled facilities and platforms. Our know-how on handling food and complex operations has helped us perform in ecom fulfillment centres and deliver compliance, quality and efficiency. Our association with Amazon gets stronger with the functioning of Pune facility after successfully delivering across Mumbai and Delhi.” says Sunil Nair, …

Qatar Airways Cargo approves Envirotainer’s the Releye® RAP container. Able to accommodate 5 pallets, the Releye® RAP is the largest and most technically advanced product in Envirotainer’s new generation container series. Its unique features are now available to Qatar Airways Cargo customers wherever and whenever required, complementing the airline’s existing range of pharmaceutical transport solutions. Qatar Airways Cargo has offered its customers Envirotainer’s RAP and RKN active pharma containers since 2014, and was an early adopter of the first Releye® RLP, launched last summer. Envirotainer’s Releye® series is based on five pillars: Control, Monitoring, Autonomy, Value, and Sustainability. Similar to the smaller 3-pallet Releye® RLP, the Releye® RAP’s unique air flow technology controls and maintains maximum temperature stability in the cargo bay. Monitoring is carried out by the Envirotainer Control Tower – a unique, dedicated service team that monitors each Releye® shipment 24/7 and is immediately on hand in the case of any deviation. Extended battery life ensures greater container autonomy, whilst value is generated by the optimum use of cargo space within the container. The Releye® RAP has the largest internal volume on the market. Added to this, its low weight and efficient performance result in both, the best value operating costs, as well as the lowest CO2 footprint in the air cargo industry: up to 90% reduction in CO2 emissions can be achieved. Fredrik Linnér, Chief Business Development Officer at Envirotainer said, “Qatar Airways Cargo and Envirotainer share a strong focus on innovation, supreme quality, and sustainability. The Envirotainer Releye® RAP is part of the Releye® series, and the RAP solution for the future. It not only allows Qatar Airways Cargo to offer its customers the newest, fully …

Pacific International Lines (PIL) will impose a fine of US$30,000 per container for any misdeclaration of the cargo weight, a charge that is already effective from 15 February. Misdeclaration includes but is not limited to incorrect/partial declaration, late declaration, alteration, or omission of such declaration, according to the company’s notice. “A charge of US$30,000 per container globally will be imposed as part of PIL’s tariff upon the shipper and/or consignee making any misdeclaration of the cargo weight which in effect exceeds the maximum payload of the container used for the carriage,” said the Singapore-headquartered carrier in a statement. In addition to this charge, amongst others, the shipper and consignee will be held liable and responsible for all corrective measures, claims, fines, liabilities, losses, delays, damages or expenses arising in consequence of such misdeclaration, according to the notice. Failure to properly declare cargo weight constitutes a breach of contract which violates the applicable law, endangers lives and adversely affects the operations of the entire supply chain, according to PIL, which said, “we focus on making continual improvements to our safety practices to protect our crew, ships and cargo.”

The Indian Railways is ramping up their game with plans for door-to-door delivery of goods to individual as well as bulk buyers. The news comes soon after the Union Budget announced further integration of Railways into the logistics ecosystem of the country. Indian Railways is now conducting test runs for the non-conventional freight traffic, tracing the footsteps of e-commerce and 3PL companies, in its own unique manner. The Indian Railways’ website will provide basic estimate of time and cost of the delivery. Plus, there will be an app to generate receipts with QR codes which can be used by the customers to track their shipments. The customers can either drop their packages at designated drop-off locations or get them picked from a location of their preference (home, office). Railways will transport the goods, while India Post and other delivery partners will be making the doorstep delivery of the shipments. Some railway zones have been asked to develop blueprints for this plan. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation is also on board with the Indian Railways and the plan is to launch the first service by mid 2022 in Delhi NCR and Sanand in Gujrat. Another project is in the pipeline for Mumbai. “We are targeting white goods, small items as well as aggregators who can avail of the service.” said a DFCC official.

Adani Ports & SEZ Limited (APSEZ) has outlined plans to develop a country-wide network and infrastructure, especially in the hinterland. The company which reported a 22 percent growth in cargo volume during the first nine months of the current financial year has outlined its expansion plans on the lines of ‘Maritime India Vision – 2030’. The vision document has proposed an investment of over Rs 3 lakh crore, which would generate more than 20 lakh jobs and unlock annual revenue potential for major ports worth over Rs 20,000 crore. As per policymakers, the estimated cost of development of the Indian ports alone will lead to an annual cost savings of about Rs 7,000 crore for foreign traders. The potential for mega capacity ports has been identified particularly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal. “APSEZ’s evolution as a transport utility with an integrated mix of logistical capabilities is in line with the PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan and has far-reaching benefits. Providing end-to-end logistics solutions in a transparent and efficient manner creates a unique value proposition for the customers and contributes to the Company’s distinctive positioning as a trusted brand.” said Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of APSEZ “Most importantly, the presence of comprehensive supply chain solution provider strengthens the country’s supply-chain structure, enhancing trade competitiveness,” Adani added. A significant player in the Indian Maritime Sector, APSEZ handles close to 30 percent of the country’s total cargo across its 12 operating ports. The company brings a fresh approach, dumping the earlier method of port operators who primarily set their eyes on core operations while outsourcing in-land logistics to other players.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari laid emphasis on bringining down the fuel and thereby the logistics cost, the speed limit for vehicles on expressways is soon to be increased, adding that rules and regulations in this regard would be changed. Gadkari who inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several road development projects worth Rs 21,559 crore in Andhra Pradesh, while addressing the public noted that the Indian exports are struggling due to the high logistics cost. “Our logistics cost is 16-18 percent whereas it is 8-10 percent in China and 12 percent in Europe and the USA. That’s one of the problems with our exports since the costs are high. We are going to accept this challenge and reduce the logistics cost to 8-10 percent,” Gadkari said. He said “time has come” to change the rules and regulations related to speed limits on expressways as access-controlled expressways were crucial to reduce fuel costs. Stating that his ministry is equipped with enough funds, the minister announced the Centre’s decision to build 22 greenfield expressways across the country as road infrastructure was vital, including six in Andhra Pradesh. “Ports, waterways are very important. Road construction is equally important. And, as far as development is concerned, we don’t want to discriminate anybody, because the country belongs to everybody,” he observed.

SEKO Logistics has streamlined international cross-border e-commerce for more than 10m parcels worldwide each month. The supply chain specialist, which in January launched e-commerce business unit Seko ECommerce, is using Descartes’ solutions for air cargo and e-commerce security filings, speeding the customs clearance processing time. David Emerson, global VP, e-commerce solutions at SEKO Logistics, said: “Cross-border e-commerce is growing significantly and more customers are looking to us to simplify the complexity of filing security and customs entries as goods travel by air between countries. “Descartes’ high-level filing automation enabled SEKO to further manage the extraordinary volumes we’re shipping. As SEKO expands internationally and regulations change, such as Brexit, Descartes has the solutions we need to grow.” Descartes provides connectivity and air messaging services to customs authorities around the world, helping shippers and freight forwarders to comply with security and customs requirements by filing air waybill information electronically for shipment clearance.

Skye Air, a drone delivery tech firm and the Department of Information Technology, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh are getting in to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to announce their collaborative intent to enable and promote medical and agri-commodity deliveries within the state. As a part of the strategic partnership, Skye Air has initiated a 3-day long BVLOS trial in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh to connect over 6 PHC/CHCs and the Area Hospitals via multiple flights between points covering an aerial distance of 170 kms throughout the trial. The Drone delivery tech firm is using its most reliable UAV, Skye Ship One to facilitate real-time deliveries of vaccines and medicines within a specified temperature range of 2-8 degree Celsius. There will be several reverse logistic flights which shall also be done in order to help the adoption of drone technology to enable cost effective deliveries within the state. The flights, equipped with consignments of medical supplies flew beyond at an altitude of 400 feet above ground level in a designated Green Zone of Chamba district. The flights took place at 3 air corridors – Chaned, Tissa and Mehla demonstrating the diversity of Skye Ship One adopting different temperature zones, steep mountain range and air-pockets. On the occasion, Mr. Mukesh Repaswal, Director, Department of Information Technology, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh said, “The use of drones can be a critical intervention in improving the ease of access to services in mountainous and remote regions of Himachal Pradesh. The demonstration in Chamba will help in ascertaining the advantages of drone use in medicine delivery and benefits of drone enabled governance. We look forward to the successful conduct of the BVLOS trials in …