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The online system that speeds up container deposit refunds has signed up 9 foreign shipping lines, registered 27 customs brokers and freight forwarders, and attracted 20 consignees and warehouse operators as subscribers
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Container Ledger Account Phils. is actively engaging more Association of International Shipping Lines members to join
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CLA seeks to resolve the long-standing issue of container deposit refunds
Nine foreign shipping lines operating in the Philippines have so far signed up with the Container Ledger Account (CLA), an online system that aims to simplify and speed up container deposit refunds.
There are also 27 customs brokers and freight forwarders that have registered and 20 consignees and container freight station and warehouse operators subscribed to the system.
Malaysia-based D&D Control (M) Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Mahendrarajah Selvaraja (Mahen) said the company is actively engaging others in the 37-memberAssociation of International Shipping Lines (AISL) to join CLA.
Some shipping lines are on a wait-and-see mode while others are waiting for approval from foreign principals to join, Mahen said during a recent webinar hosted by the Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association Inc. together with PortCalls.
CLA is an alternative and voluntary solution to simplify container deposit management between the shipping line and the consignee/agent. The system began pilot-testing in the Philippines last December.
AISL earlier tapped D&D to offer an alternative solution to the long-standing issue of returning container deposits in the Philippines.
In place since 2018 in Malaysia, CLA is used by 44 shipping lines and over 2,000 consignees and agents in 14 Malaysian ports. Several of those liners and shipping agents using CLA are also operating in the Philippines.
D&D has established Container Ledger Account Phils. Inc., which now has a physical office in Manila. CLA is a patented solution in Malaysia. A patent has been applied for in the Philippines and Indonesia.
In his presentation during the webinar, Mahen said CLA, which can be accessed on www.clap.ph, can either help manage container deposit online or replace the deposit with a one-time security payment.
He said CLA cuts procedures, time and costs; improves competitiveness and levels the playing field among big, small and medium organizations.
In a presentation last year to Philippine industry organizations, Mahen said CLA would eliminate the administrative burden of shippers who have to prepare various documents to claim their container deposits from shipping lines.
The system can also improve the cashflow of users, as they only need to deal with one party and won’t have to make a container deposit for every shipping line they use. Through CLA, users can provide the container deposit or a security amount for use with all their containers regardless of the shipping line.
READ: AISL offers system for faster container deposit refund
In the CLA platform, consignees, importers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers may choose between two options: deposit ledger and cash ledger.
With the deposit ledger, users will deposit an amount depending on their TEU (20-foot equivalent units) volumes, and this amount will be refunded through the CLA upon request.
Once the empty container is returned to the depot, the stakeholder can request for a refund through CLA, which will immediately inform the shipping line to release the deposit. The funds will be refunded to the stakeholder also through CLA.
For the cash ledger, the user will no longer have to post a container deposit but provide a security amount depending on monthly TEU volumes.
Another option available in Malaysia that can be used in the Philippines is the CLA Credit, available for VIPs of shipping lines and users with high volumes.
The fee for using the CLA deposit ledger is P200 per TEU; for the cash ledger it is fee is P100 per TEU.
The return of container deposits is a long-standing issue in the Philippine shipping industry. The government earlier tried to address the problem through a joint administrative order on local charges imposed by international shipping lines; the order did not materialize.
In January, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 10575, which seeks to strengthen government agencies’ oversight of charges imposed by foreign shipping lines operating in the Philippines. – Roumina Pablo
