Lok Sabha passes Bill to simplify maritime regulations for shippers

The Bill, which replaces the 1925 Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, aligns India’s maritime law with international conventions and seeks to modernise provisions governing the transport of goods by sea.

The Ports, Shipping & Waterways minister told the House during the debate on the Bill that it aims to provide clear responsibilities, liabilities, rights and immunities for carriers in the shipping industry.

“We have taken all stakeholders on board and our main intention is to make the law simpler and better understood,” Sonowal said. “The Act is applicable when ships are carrying goods from an Indian port to foreign port or from an Indian port to any other Indian port, thereby covering international carriers of goods from India as well as domestic carriers of goods by sea.”

Lok Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote after the discussion.

The Opposition, meanwhile, raised concerns about the Bill’s potential impact on Indian traders, industries and the domestic shipping sector.

Flagging concerns over the powers granted to the Union government, Congress MP Vijay Vasanth called for better protection for shippers and consignees and pointed out that the Bill does not adequately address risks related to discrepancies in weight declarations.

Samajwadi Party MP Aditya Yadav called for the withdrawal of the Bill, alleging that it was designed to directly benefit a particular group. Yadav said similarly a bill was introduced in 2021 to benefit a Gujarat based company.

Yadav said that ports are deliberately shown to be running in losses and are given to private companies, which then make profits. “Why doesn’t the government itself run these ports and help the poor and farmers,” Yadav said.

NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule emphasised on the need to safeguard the interests of fishermen and farmers, particularly those affected by the development of the Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra.

TMC’s Pratima Mondal said the Bill gives the current government excessive power to regulate and control the transportation sector, leaving states, local bodies and small logistics businesses with no authority. “By doing so, the federal structure of the country is being weakened,” Mondal said.

Mondal claimed that the government was pushing its privatisation agenda under the excuse of modernisation.

RJD’s Sudhakar Singh argued that the government, in the name of simplification and modernisation, is trying to centralise power and weaken accountability.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey asserted that replacing colonial-era laws was a priority for the Narendra Modi-led government. Dubey also noted that despite India’s commitments at the international level, no previous government had introduced such a Bill until Modi took the initiative.