Over 20,000 workers lay idle as Alang-Sosiya ship-breaking yard in Bhavnagar district, Asia’s biggest, ground to a halt to protest a recent decree from the Customs and the Excise departments that the ship-breakers disclose details of goods and items they get from each ship before they break it.
As per the current practice, ship-breakers submit details goods-wise, and not ship-wise.
The day-long bandh called by ship-breakers may turn into an indefinite strike, the Alang-Sosiya Ship Recyclers Association said after its request for a meeting with local customs and excise officials was turned down on Tuesday.
Asia’s biggest ship-breaking yard pays around Rs 2,500 crore per annum in taxes to the government.
Alang-Sosiya Ship Recyclers Association president V K Gupta said it’s not feasible to follow the new rule and provide details of goods ship-wise.
According to Gupta, on an average, three ships undergo breaking at any ship-breaking plot at a time and scraps and goods collected are sorted category-wise — like iron, steel, furniture, crockery — and their details are given to the tax department in the same format.
"To follow the new rule, the breakers can just take one ship at a time. That simply means they cannot afford to purchase a ship in advance to avoid loss due to price fluctuation," argued Gupta.
The association argued that nowhere in the world does such a rule exist.
Ship-breakers claimed the new rule would reduce their breaking capacity to one ship at a time from three, which eventually means a drastic fall in revenues for breakers, workers and the government as well.
There are a total of 127 private ship-breaking plots at Alang.
Source: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/new/2010/12/23/ship-breakers-stop-work-after-scrap-with-taxmen/
Work remains suspended at Alang for second day:
Alang, world’s largest ship breaking yard, came to a standstill, after yard owners in tandem with workers stopped working to protest a notification issued by Central Excise (CE), asking for a ship-wise break-up of material obtained from dismantled vessels.
Ship-breakers were asked to periodically give details of excisable and non-excisable items obtained from the ships they bring for scraping. They, in turn, protested on the grounds that as they dismantled more than one ship at a time, it was not possible to furnish ship-wise details of material obtained.
This notification comes in the wake of thick flying rumours that large scale duty evasion by some ship breakers who used to inflate the quantity of non-excisable items, are prevalent here.
Alang-Sosiya Ship Recycling Association (ASSRA) officials said the CE rules have created trouble for the industry.
Since 1983, Alang has so far dismantled 5,200 ships of various sizes. In the current financial year, data from Gujarat Maritime Board, the state government body which regulates the industry at Alang, shows that 230 ships have already been dismantled.The entire 2010 had a figure of 348, thus making available around 3 million tones of steel for reuse.
Employing over 40,000 workers, mostly migrants, the 11 km natural stretch of this shipyard is arguably one of the best ship breaking yards. Allegations of accidents and its suppression has always mired the place with global human rights agencies claiming the ship yards have more than 1 accident per day but not all of them are reported.
Source: Commodity Online; Saturday, December 25th, 2010 http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/new/2010/12/25/india%e2%80%99s-ship-breaking-yard-protest-govt-notification/
ShipBreaking remains suspended for third day at Alang, India:
Work remained suspended for the third consecutive day here at Asia's biggest ship breaking yard Alang, in protest of the central excise notification seeking changes in the system of invoicing by ship breakers for more transparency.
Minor incidents of stone pelting were reported from block number 88 at Alang, when some restless workers vented their ire due to yard close down, police said today.Over 125 odd ship breakers, majority having facility to anchor two ships for dismantling, boycotted work to protest against the central excise notification seeking change in system of invoicing by ship breakers for more clarity on taxation.
"Ship dismantling remained suspended for the third day. No cutting and scrapping of the 100 odd ships anchored in various yards of Alang took place," Gujarat Ship Recycling Industry Association (GSRIA) President Vishnu Kumar Gupta said.
"The proposed changes by authorities in system of invoicing cannot be implemented practically, so industry is raising its voice against it," Gupta said.
Halt in ship dismantling results in around Rs 7-8 crore per day revenue loss to the government, a GSRIA member said.
The ship cutting and scrapping industry of Alang provides direct and indirect employment to around 25,000 workers.
The notification was issued in July, asking the ship breakers to provide details of products attracting excise duty and those exempted on breaking of ships bought for scrapping.
It was issued after Director General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) unearthed a multi-crore duty evasion 'racket' at Alang, where ship breakers were allegedly hiding value addition to scrap and were inflating the quantity of items exempted from excise duty.
All the stakeholders are likely to meet shortly to sort out the issue, sources said.
Source: Press Trust of India / Bhavnagar (Gujarat) December 23, 2010, http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ship-breaking-remains-suspended-for-third-day-at-alang/120139/on
India’s ship breaking yard protest govt notification:
Work was suspended for the second consecutive day at Asia"s biggest ship breaking yard Alang, in protest of the central excise notification seeking change in system of invoicing by ship breakers for more transparency.
"Ship breaking work in Alang remained suspended for the second day as over 100 odd ship breakers boycotted work in protest of the public notice issued by authorities," Gujarat Ship Recycling Industry Association (GSRIA) President Vishnu Kumar Gupta said.
"No scrapping and ship cutting took place in the ship breaking yards of Alang," he said.
Over 125 ship breaking units at Alang joined the protest, a member of GSRIA said.
The notification was issued in July, asking the ship breakers to provide details of products attracting excise duty and those exempted on breaking of ships they bought for scrapping.
The notification was issued after Director General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) unearthed a multi-crore duty evasion "racket" at Alang, where ship breakers were allegedly hiding value addition to scrap and were inflating the quantity of items exempted from excise duty.
The industry body of ship breakers, which is part of the Ship Recycling Industries Association, has submitted a memorandum to the Central Excise commissioner here, urging the department to reconsider the clauses in the notification.
A meeting of all the stakeholders failed to come out with a solution to the deadlock.
Source: PTI, Friday, December 24th, 2010
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/new/2010/12/24/work-remains-suspended-at-alang-for-second-day/
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