Following a waste ban announcement by Thailand’s government in early July, the UK P&I Club informed that, to date, there are approximately 1,600 containers and 1,400 containers of scrap or waste cargoes at Laem Chabang Port and Bangkok Port respectively.
The majority of the containers checked by Customs were found to be illegal i.e. importers were not licensed; importers’ licenses had expired, mis-declaration etc., and were seized by Customs.
About half of the discharged containers remain pending importers’ processing of customs formalities, however, most of these containers are likely to be abandoned by the consignees.
To remind, Bangkok port has announced that it would not discharge import containers that contain plastic waste, electronic waste or hazardous waste. Furthermore, TICTA (Thai International Container and Terminal Association) has also reserved the right not to discharge containers containing this waste.
For shipments on route, if carriers have assurance from consignees that they have valid license and will definitely take delivery of the cargo, both LCP terminals and PAT/BKP will consider allowing the import containers to be discharged.
The Department of Industrial Works has suspended the license of five importers and the license of the sixth importer has expired. There is only one remaining importer with a valid license, however, DIW will not grant an extension after its expiration. Furthermore, the DIW will also temporarily stop granting new licenses until further notice.
According to the Club, for the seized containers and the abandoned shipments, Customs will take following actions:
- Customs will wait 30 days after discharge (which will be considered as overstay cargo, in accordance with Customs Act B.E 2560 (AD 2017)) before proceeding with the inspection of the seized/abandoned cargo for issuance of the first notice (List A) to the shipping agents.
- If the shipping agents fail to take any action 15 days after receipt of List A (according to the regulation prescribed in Section 107 (2) of the Customs Act, B.E. 2560), Customs will proceed to issue second notice (List F) for disposal of the seized/abandoned cargo through auction.
For the seized/abandoned shipments of scrap and waste cargoes, Customs will dispose as follows:
- If the cargo is found to be hazardous waste, Customs will instruct shipping agents to ship out the container. In this event, the shipping agents will have to obtain the Power of Attorney from the consignees and also have to obtain export permit from the DIW.
- If the cargo is found to have some value, Customs will call an auction. However, the cargo must be re-exported only.
