THE DISPUTE between the Cyprus Port Authority (CPA) and the Cyprus electrical appliances importers association (CELAPIA) over port tariffs is set to be resolved in court after an apparent breakdown in discussions.
The CELAPIA suit, which is claimed to have already been filed, alleges that the CPA is imposing unrealistically high tariffs for some electrical appliances while charging other rates for other imports, thus creating unfair competition.
Currently, a tariff of approximately €8 is imposed on every item of several electrical appliances such as fridges, washing machines, DVDs and TVs among others.
The port tariffs, which are set after Council of Ministers and House decisions, are not linked to custom duties but are used to cover maintenance and functioning costs of the ports.
The electrical appliances importers have called for the tariff to be completely abolished or at least evenly spread out.
Negotiations between the two parties reached an impasse lately, as several suggestions by the CPA were rebuffed by the importers.
CELAPIA head, Othonas Theodoulou, said that the 40-odd list of products liable for this tariff charge was drawn up arbitrarily in the eighties, “when the CPA was looking to cover the costs of building the new port in Limassol.”
“This has lead to the situation we are now, where a washing machine is liable for this charge, while a drying machine is not” said Theodoulou, who branded the disparity between tariff rates across products and the arbitrary manner in which they are imposed, scandalous.
CPA head, Yiannakis Kokkinos clarified that every cargo and every passenger that reaches the CPA ports were liable for a relevant tariff and explained that without this system, the “ports would be driven to the ground financially.”
According to Kokkinos, revenues from this practice constituted two-thirds of the CPA’s general revenues, which amounted to around €40 million last year.
Revenues from the tariff on electrical appliances are estimated to be just over €2 million.
Kokkinos agreed that advancements in technology had rendered the tariff rate overvalued and outdated and suggested a system where tariffs were imposed according to the each product’s weight.
He nonetheless clarified that the €2 million revenues from the electrical appliances could not be compromised.
Theodoulou questioned the reasoning behind CPA’s insistence on receiving €2 million from electrical appliances imports and argued that the CPA was charging different prices for performing the same job of unloading the cargo from the ship.
“A container full of ovens will cost €90, while a container full of small fridges will cost €900 since every item will be liable to an €8 tariff” said Theodoulou.
He complained that this made several products uncompetitive, which forced consumers to buy products on-line.
“Why the CPA has to live off these tariffs to continue its operation is beyond me and this ultimately hurts the importers and the consumers” said Theodoulou.
